Cal Poly men’s tennis won each of their weekend matchups over UC Davis and UC San Diego to continue their perfect start to conference play on Saturday, Apr. 9 and Sunday, Apr. 10.
The Mustangs (14-4, 5-0 Big West) kicked off the weekend with a 4-3 win over UC Davis (14-11, 0-3 Big West) and capped it off with a 4-1 victory over UC San Diego (4-19, 1-4 Big West).
Saturday vs UC Davis
A back-and-forth Big West Conference affair between Cal Poly and UC Davis was clinched by Mustang redshirt sophomore Colter Smith in the final match, 4-3, inside Mustang Tennis Complex on Saturday, Apr. 9.
The matchup between the Mustangs, who sit at the top of the Big West, and the Aggies, who are tied for last place, included four lead changes with every match having to count.
The day started with Cal Poly’s No. 3 doubles pairing of sophomore Noah Berry and redshirt sophomore Fernando Fonseca falling to the Aggies’ pairing of Brett Brinkman and Andras Necz, 6-2.
Cal Poly’s No. 1 pair of freshman Bastiaan Weststrate and Smith won 6-4 to even it up, but the No. 2 pair of redshirt sophomore Joe Leather and graduate student Hendrik Inno were not able to close out the point for the Mustangs, losing in a close 7-4 match.
Down 1-0, Berry opened the singles matches with a straight-set victory, 6-4, 6-4, to tie the match. The win pushed Berry’s team-leading record to 11-4.
The Aggies quickly regained their lead by beating Leather in the No. 2 singles spot, 6-2, 6-4. However, the Mustangs and Fonseca tied it right back up with a straight-set victory, 7-5, 6-3.
The match was tied at two apiece when redshirt sophomore Ben Keyser was asked to play in his first match of the year. The sophomore did not show signs of rust, as he stepped in and won 6-4, 7-6(5) to give the Mustangs a 3-2 lead.
A three-set victory, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, by the Aggies’ No. 5 Brett Brinkman over Weststrate tied the match and set up an exciting No. 6 matchup between Smith and the Aggies’ Ryan Morgan.
After splitting the first two sets, Smith was up 5-4 in the third set and leading 30-15 in the game. At this point, Morgan was given a penalty point after being overruled for the third time in the match on a call regarding an out-of-play ruling by the chair umpire. Consequently, this gave Smith the point, which gave him the game and match win, resulting in Cal Poly earning the overall duel victory at 4-3.
Sunday vs. UC San Diego
Cal Poly continued to collect wins with a 4-1 victory against UC San Diego at the Mustang Tennis Complex.
The win extended the No. 59 Mustangs’ winning streak to five games.
Despite losing the overall double points to the Tritons, Mustang duo Berry and Fonseca earned a win at the No. 3 spot.
Cal Poly then began to take over in singles play.
Berry earned the Mustangs a win at the No. 1 spot, 6-1, 6-0, to tie the overall matchup and secure his fourth straight win.
Smith then earned a 6-0, 6-1 win at the No. 3 spot, which gave him his own four-match streak.
At the No. 1 spot, Keyser earned his second straight win 6-0, 6-2 to place Cal Poly ahead 3-1.
Cal Poly secured their victory when Weststrate won his match at the No. 5 spot, 6-1, 7-5.
The Mustangs’ next matchup will be against Santa Clara, their first non-conference opponent since Mar. 12, in Palo Alto on Wednesday, Apr. 13 at 11 am.
