Cal Poly Men’s Tennis went 1-1 in their two home games this week against Rice University and Loyola Marymount University.
The Mustangs (5-5) continued their five-game homestand this past weekend at the Mustang Tennis Complex hosting the Owls (9-6) who boast the No. 67 spot in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s Top 75 rankings while just edging out the Lions (6-6) on St. Patrick’s Day weekend.
Tough loss to Top 75 ranked opponent
The Mustangs fell to No. 67 ranked Rice University 5-2 on Thursday in their third of a five-game homestand.
The Mustangs now sit 0-2 all-time against Rice as their record against Top 75 opponents this season drops to 0-3.
In doubles, senior Noah Berry and redshirt senior Fernando Fonseca could not catch up to their opponent as they lost their set 6-3 in the third spot.
The Israeli freshmen pair Raz Haviv and Sean Kamyshev went down 6-4 after, causing the 6-6 nail-biter in line one to stop play.
Berry dominated his opponent 6-1 and 6-2 to take the first Mustang point, bouncing back quickly from the doubles loss.
Redshirt senior Colter Smith started his match off hot, winning 7-5 in the first set, but only could win one game throughout the next two sets.
Fonseca also gained redemption after the doubles loss, winning in three sets at the fourth spot to wrap up the match with a 5-2 Mustang loss.
Bounce back win on St. Patrick’s Day weekend
Cal Poly men’s tennis continued to move through the early stages of their season, after hosting Loyola Marymount University, at the Mustang Tennis Complex in San Luis Obispo.
The Mustangs bounced in Saturday afternoon’s matchup, fighting hard and beating the Lions 4-3 in match play on St. Patrick’s Day weekend.
In doubles, Kamyshev and Haviv won 6-1 in the No. 2 spot, and Smith and junior Bastiaan Weststrate won 6-3 over Loyola Marymount in the No. 1 slot.
In singles, Berry, Weststrate, and Smith all lost in their matches but wins from Fonseca, Kamyshev and the clinching three-set win from redshirt senior Joe Leather helped push the Mustangs to win the match 4-3.
Next, the Mustangs will wrap up their five-match homestand when they host the University of Denver this Sunday, March 24th, at 12 p.m. at the Mustang Tennis Complex.