Cal Poly men’s tennis ended their bid at a sixth straight conference championship game after falling 4-0 in their semi-final match to UC Irvine on Saturday, April 30 in San Diego.
The No. 60 Mustangs (15-6, 5-1 Big West) beat the Anteaters (16-6, 4-2 Big West) earlier in the season 4-2, but were unable to edge out the tournament win.
The day started out great for the Mustangs, with the No. 3 duo of redshirt sophomore Fernando Fonseca and sophomore Noah Berry getting the 6-3 win.
However, the Mustangs couldn’t secure the doubles point as the No. 1 and No. 2 pairings for Irvine got the victories.
In singles, straight-set wins at the No. 3 and No. 4 spots gave the Anteaters a commanding 3-0 match lead.
Then, the nail in the coffin came from UC Irvine’s No. 2 pairing’s straight-set win 6-4, 6-2. The 4-0 win sent the Anteaters to the Big West championship matchup on Sunday, May 1.
Now, it’s a waiting game for the Mustangs as they hope to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. The selection show will take place on Monday, May 2 at 3 p.m.