Cal Poly Men’s Tennis fell in a close match against Pepperdine 4-3 on Friday, Feb. 19 at the Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center.
Pepperdine picked up their first win of the season with a record of 1-3, while Cal Poly dropped to 3-4 on the season with the loss, their final match on a season-opening seven-game road trip.
The first point of the match went to the Waves after they won the doubles matches over the Mustangs. Redshirt senior Antoine Noel and freshman Noah Berry were the first pair to lose in doubles, with a final score of 6-3. Pepperdine then secured the doubles point in the No. 3 matchup, when redshirt sophomore Gary Vardanyan and redshirt junior Alex Stater lost a close 6-4 match.
Berry tied the score for the Mustangs after defeating Pepperdine’s No. 2 player in a dominant straight-sets match (6-2, 6-1).
The Waves responded quickly, as Pawel Jankowiak won against freshman Carter Crookston at the No. 6 spot in straight sets (6-2, 6-1).
Pepperdine widened their lead after Vardanyan was beaten by the Waves’ Robert Shelton in straight sets (6-3, 6-1). The Waves continued their command over the Mustangs and guaranteed a win when redshirt freshman Joe Leather lost in straight sets to Corrado Summaria (6-2, 6-4).
Despite losing three straight singles matches, Cal Poly picked up some consolation points at the end of the contest. Redshirt freshman Fernando Fonseca got the best of the Pietro Fellin in a thrilling comeback match that went to all three sets (3-6, 6-3, 10-6).
Stater continued his good form with his sixth singles win of the season, a back-and-forth affair against Adrian Oetzbach in three sets (6-2, 3-6, 10-7).
The Mustangs return to San Luis Obispo for their home opener on Saturday, Feb. 27 against Santa Clara at the Mustang Tennis Complex.