Third-seeded UC Santa Barbara notched a 4-1 victory over second-seeded UC Irvine in the semifinals of the Big West Men's Tennis Championship at the Orange County Great Park Saturday. The Gauchos seek their sixth consecutive tournament crown when they battle rival and top seed Cal Poly Sunday at noon.
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• UCSB has won 13 straight Big West Tournament matches, a streak that dates back to 2015.
• UCSB has won 17 of its last 18 tournament contests going back to 2013.
• UCSB and Cal Poly will meet in the championship match for the fifth straight year and seventh time overall.
• The Gauchos overcame first set losses at the No. 1 and No. 4 singles positions to win both matches.
Joseph Guillin battled back to defeat
Bjorn Hoffmann by scores of 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 at the top spot, while
Pablo Masjuan was a 3-6, 6-1, 7-5 winner over
Mike Mkrtchian at No. 4.
• In addition to winning five straight titles, the UCSB program has amassed six of the last seven, 10 of the last 14, and 12 of the last 18 – all under head coach
Marty Davis.
Cal Poly Claws Back For 4-3 Victory Over Hawai‘i
Down early by two points, top-seeded Cal Poly didn't flinch and roared back for a 4-3 victory over No. 4 seed Hawai‘i in the semifinals of the Big West Men's Tennis Championship at the Orange County Great Park Saturday. The Mustangs are back in the finals for the fifth straight year against their nemesis UC Santa Barbara.
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• Cal Poly seeks its third Big West Tournament title. The Mustangs won in 2012 against UCSB and in 2014 versus Hawai‘i.
• The Mustangs carry a 10-match winning streak into the final. During that streak, Cal Poly has won four by 4-3 scores.
• Two matches finished within a minute of each other to decide today's outcome. Hawaii's
Lucas Labrunie earned a 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 win at No. 2 singles against Cal Poly's
Noah Berry to tie the score at 3-3. At No. 3, Cal Poly's
Antoine Noel and
Blaz Seric battled in a third-set tiebreaker with match point on the line. Noel won the point to take the match, 5-7, 6-2, 7-6 (7). He managed to withstand four match points to earn the victory.
• Cal Poly is 7-0 against Big West opponents this season, including a 4-3 triumph over UCSB on April 17.
•
Fernando Fonseca defeated UH's
Tristan Martins at No. 5 singles, 7-6 (3), 6-2. He has won nine of his last 10 matches.