No surprises took place in the Big West Men’s Tennis Tournament semifinals as top two seeds UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly took care of business at Indian Wells Tennis Garden Friday.
UC Santa Barbara Seeks Fourth Straight Tourney Title
BOX SCORE
Looking to a tie a Big West Tournament record with a fourth straight title, top seed UC Santa Barbara took the next step to getting there, defeating fourth-seeded UC Irvine 4-0 in the semifinals at Indian Wells Tennis Garden Friday.
The Gauchos initially set the record from 2006-09. UCSB has won eight of the last 12 tournament titles in Indian Wells, including each of the last three. The last two were as the No. 1 tournament seed.
In a familiar sight, UCSB won its 24th straight match over a Big West opponent - counting regular season and tournament contests. The Gauchos are 39-0 in sets against conference foes this season.
UCSB earned the doubles point with wins at No. 3 and No. 1. Nicolas Moreno de Alboran and Anders Holm took a 6-3 decision over Bruce Man-Son-Hing and Vatsal Bajpai at No. 1 to clinch the point.
The Gauchos (17-6) rolled in singles with consecutive wins at No. 4, No. 6 and No. 3.
Holm defeated Daniel Gealer (6-4, 6-1) at No. 4, followed by Victor Krustev’s 6-2, 6-1 triumph at No. 6 over Bajpai.
UCI (16-12) had competitive matches going on at No. 1, No. 2 and No. 5, but Sasha Krasnov could not solve Simon Freund at No. 3, as he completed the match with a 6-3, 6-3 victory.
BIG WEST MEN’S TENNIS SEMIFINALS
INDIAN WELLS TENNIS GARDEN
FRIDAY, APRIL 27
(1) UC SANTA BARBARA 4, (4) UC IRVINE 0
Doubles
1. Moreno de Alboran/Holm (UCSB) def. Bruce Man-Son-Hing/Bajpai (UCI) - 6-3
2. Freund/Joseph Rotheram (UCSB) vs. Marquard/Hansen (UCI) - 4-4 (unfinished)
3. Guillin/Krustev (UCSB) def. Gealer/Lopez (UCI) - 6-2
Order of finish: 3, 1
Singles
1. Nicolas Moreno de Alboran (UCSB) vs. Luis Lopez (UCI) - 6-3, 5-4 (unfinished)
2. Joseph Guillin (UCSB) vs. Luca Marquard (UCI) - 6-7 (7) (unfinished)
3. Simon Freund (UCSB) def. Sasha Krasnov (UCI) - 6-3, 6-3
4. Anders Holm (UCSB) def. Daniel Gealer (UCI) - 6-4, 6-1
5. Hironagi Koyanagi (UCSB) vs. Mason Hansen (UCI) - 6-4, 4-5 (unfinished)
6. Victor Krustev (UCSB) def. Vatsal Bajpai (UCI) - 6-2, 6-1
Order of finish: 4, 6, 3
Cal Poly Reaches Fourth Final In Five Years
BOX SCORE
No. 2 seed Cal Poly cruised past third-seeded UC Davis, earning a 4-0 victory in the semifinals of the Big West Men’s Tennis Tournament at Indian Wells Tennis Garden Friday. The Mustangs punched their ticket to the championship match for the fourth time in five years.
Cal Poly (18-6), which tied the school’s single-season record for wins, advanced to Sunday’s final against familiar foe UC Santa Barbara. The two rivals will meet for the championship for the third straight year.
The Mustangs won the doubles point after collecting victories at No. 2 and No. 3. Karl Enander and Dominic Bechard clinched the point with their win at No. 2, 6-4, over David Goulak and Tommy Lam.
In singles, the Mustangs notched three straight wins in straight sets. Axel Damiens took down Arjith Jayaraman at No. 4 (6-1, 6-1), Antoine Noel defeated Goulak at No. 3 (6-2, 6-2) and Enander was victorious at No. 6 over Chethan Swanson, 6-3, 6-2.
BIG WEST MEN’S TENNIS SEMIFINALS
INDIAN WELLS TENNIS GARDEN
FRIDAY, APRIL 27
(2) CAL POLY 4, (3) UC DAVIS 0
Doubles
1. Ortlip/Damiens (CP) vs. Thamma/Maltby (UCD) - 5-5 (unfinished)
2. Enander/Bechard (CP) def. Goulak/Lam (UCD) - 6-4
3. Roman Shenkiryk/Andrew Whitehouse (CP) def. Mitchell Iwahiro/Jayaraman (UCD) - 6-3
Order of finish: 3, 2
Singles
1. Josh Ortlip (CP) vs. Ivan Thamma (UCD) - 7-6 (5), 2-0 (unfinished)
2. Dominic Bechard (CP) vs. Everett Maltby (UCD) - 7-5, 3-2 (unfinished)
3. Antoine Noel (CP) def. David Goulak (UCD) - 6-2, 6-2
4. Axel Damiens (CP) def. Arjith Jayaraman (UCD) - 6-1, 6-1
5. Alexander Stater (CP) vs. Tommy Lam (UCD) - 6-2, 3-2 (unfinished)
6. Karl Enander (CP) def. Chethan Swanson (UCD) - 6-3, 6-2
Order of finish: 4, 3, 6