Sometime this month, Oliver Tarvet will play his final tennis match for the University of San Diego.
“It’s going to be an interesting milestone for me,” Tarvet said recently of what he might experience at the end of his run at Alcala Park. “I don’t know what my emotions will really be.
“The success we’ve had at USD in tennis is something we’ll talk about the rest of our lives. It’s been a very special journey. And my personal experience at USD has been incredible and would have been difficult to get anywhere else.
“I love this place and what USD means to me.”
Tarvet could be making his last appearance on campus at the Hogan Tennis Center this weekend, when USD hosts the NCAA Regionals. The four-team field is led by the 17th-ranked Toreros (20-5) and includes No. 21 UCLA (17-7), No. 30 Arizona State (17-10) and No. 36 UC Santa Barbara (18-7).
USD, the champions of the West Coast Conference, will play UCSB in the regional semifinals at 1 p.m. Friday after UCLA meets Arizona State at 10 a.m. The winners will be in Saturday’s regional finals at noon. The Toreros defeated UCSB earlier this season but went 0-2 against Arizona State. USD and UCLA have not played this season.
Tarvet, a native of St. Albans, England, is USD’s No. 1 singles player and teams with senior Stian Klaassen to form the Toreros’ No. 1 doubles team ahead of 34th-ranked Adrien Berrut and Lambert Ruland. Tarvet is ranked 19th in the nation in singles.
Tarvet has an 18-2 record in singles this season. But he is far more than wins and losses to USD’s tennis program. Tarvet is an international ambassador.
“As long as I’m playing,” he said, “I will wave the USD flag.”
USD senior Oliver Tarvet celebrates during a win over UC Irvine earlier this season. (USD athletics)
He did just that last summer. Tarvet returned to England, gained a berth in the Wimbledon singles field by defeating two now-top-50 international players in qualifying events and then defeated Switzerland’s Leandro Riedi in the first round (6-4, 6-4, 6-4) before losing to eventual runner-up Carlos Alcaraz 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 in the second round.
Right after the Riedi victory, Tarvet grabbed a USD hat from Toreros head coach Ryan Keckley and wore it during the post-match press conference. He wore the hat again after the Alcaraz match.
“It meant a lot to me to represent USD at Wimbledon,” said Tarvet. “I made sure I recognized USD. The success I had at Wimbledon was in part because of the hard work at USD and the people who worked hard for me day in and day out at USD. The coaches and all the people behind the scenes. It was enjoyable because I could give credit to USD on the international stage … give the credit where it was due.
“I would like to think I’m an ambassador for USD. I made a very active effort at Wimbledon to represent USD the way it should be represented by showing my love for the university as a whole. What we have is very special.”
This is the second straight year that USD is hosting regionals. And while USD lost in last year’s regional, Tarvet sees the Toreros going deeper in this year’s tournament.
“Because we’re a team of seniors and freshmen, we’re a bit of a dark horse,” said Tarvet. “We get better every week. I think we’re going to surprise people.”
Aztecs women travel
San Diego State’s women’s tennis team also opens play in the NCAA Regionals on Friday. But the 21-3, 51st-ranked Aztecs, the champions of the Mountain West Conference, will be on the road at Arizona State for a first-round semifinals match against 18th-ranked UCLA (16-7) at 10 a.m. Also in the field are the host and 16th-ranked Sun Devils (19-5) and 67th-ranked Denver (16-7).
UCLA defeated the Aztecs 5-2 in the dual meet opener back on Jan. 18.
3C2A playoffs open
Palomar College will host Southern California Regionals in both the California Community College Athletic Association baseball and softball playoffs starting Friday. The Comets are ranked second in the state in both spots and No. 1 in Southern California.
Palomar’s Pacific Coast Athletic Conference-champion baseball team (34-5) will open play in a four-team, double-elimination series on campus at 3 p.m. Friday. PCAC runner-up Grossmont College (25-15), Southwestern College (20-19) and Mesa College (19-21) will all be starting the double-elimination, four-team series on the road in 11 a.m. games.
Palomar’s PCAC champion softball team (37-1) will host Ventura on campus at 2 p.m. in the opener of a best-of-three series. PCAC runner-up Mesa College (26-12) will host Mt. San Jacinto College at 2 p.m. in the opener of a best-of-three series as the No. 3 seed in Southern California. Southwestern College (22-16) will open the playoffs at 2 p.m. at Mt. San Antonio College.