LOS ANGELES — The Occidental men's tennis team continues to make progress.

The Tigers took down UC Santa Cruz 5-4 at the McKinnon Family Tennis Center on Monday, sweeping the doubles competition against a team they lost to last season, 8-1.

Oxy jumped out to a 3-0 lead when No. 1 team of Lucas Chmielewski and Matthew O'Connor, No. 2 team of David Zhang and Luke Williams, and No. 3 team of Sam Coan and Seth Lipe all earned victories in the three doubles matches. 

The Banana Slugs didn't go quietly, winning the top four of the six singles, three of which were in three-set battles.

Oxy's singles heroes of the day were No. 5 Sam Coan and No. 6 Ivan Derrick, who clinched the match for Oxy with straight-set wins.

It was a brutally long match, lasting more than four hours.

Season Impact: Oxy's record improves to 2-1 on the season.

The Tigers have already beaten Lewis & Clark from the Northwest, and continue to make a strong case for national ranking consideration. 

Next Match: The Tigers are back in action against Clark College on Friday, Feb. 28.