Cal Poly men’s tennis split their matchups against Big West Conference rivals UC Riverside and UC Irvine.
The Mustangs (7-7, 2-1 Big West) wrapped up their road schedule with a 4-0 win against the Highlanders (4-15, 0-3 Big West) but fell in a close 4-3 matchup to the Anteaters (12-5, 2-0 Big West.)
Mustangs sweep the Highlanders in their final road match
Cal Poly men’s tennis showed out against UC Riverside in a 4-0 sweep. Piggybacking off a strong conference opener in Hawaii, the Mustangs got back in the win column with a 7-6 season record and a 2-0 Big West Conference record.
Junior Bastiaan Westrate and redshirt senior Colter Smith quickly took their matchup 6-1 in the No. 1 doubles spot.
Although freshman Sean Kamyshev is usually paired up with his fellow freshman Raz Haviv in doubles, redshirt senior Joe Leather joined Kamyshev in the number two spot, where they won their matchup 6-4 to get the doubles point.
In the singles matches, Leather, Smith and Kamyshev got to the third set in each matchup, while the odd slots got it done early in two sets.
Senior Noah Berry dominated his opponent 6-0 and 6-2 while Westrate and redshirt senior Fernando Fonseca each beat their opponent in the three and five singles spots.
Cal Poly will take on UC Irvine in their last road match of the year on Saturday, April 6 at 12 p.m. The Mustangs dropped their last two matchups against the Anteaters, losing 7-0 last season.
First Big West loss comes against the Anteaters
The Mustangs’ comeback effort came up short, losing 4-3 after tying the match at three a piece on the road Saturday, April 6, against UC Irvine.
In a hard-fought match, Cal Poly took the doubles point to start thanks to Smith and Westrate winning at the No. 1 spot and Berry and Fonseca at the number three spot.
Smith and Westrate move to 10-2 on the season, far and away leading the Mustangs.
In singles, the Anteaters won at the number five, four, and three matches to take a 3-1 lead.
Fonseca put up the strongest fight, winning the first set 6-3. However, the Brazilian could not maintain his play, dropping the next two 6-4 and 6-3.
Cal Poly’s Kamyshev followed, winning his match at the number six spot, and the comeback was on. Leather, the senior from Bath, England, won the following match at the number two spot in three sets, 6-1, 2-6, 6-3, tying the dual at 3-3 with one match to go.
Berry, the Mustangs’ ace, stepped onto the court for the potential win. An arduous first set put the senior behind, 7-5, but not dead as he fought back to win the next set 6-3.
Tied, the battle for the match came down to a final set. After taking an early lead, Berry could not close out the third set and lost 7-5.
Next, the Mustangs will host powerhouse USC on Wednesday, April 10, at 2 p.m. at the Mustang Tennis Complex.