Cal Poly Men’s Tennis swept Hawai’i (3-14) for their first conference win of the season, going 2-2 overall in a packed week of action.
The Mustangs (7-10) also faced No. 41 ranked Boise State (15-4) last week, falling 2-5 against the Broncos. The team then traveled to Phoenix for their next two matches, losing 1-4 to Grand Canyon University (12-4) before finishing out the trip with a 4-0 victory over Seattle University (1-8).
With four matches in a short period of time, trends in Cal Poly’s play emerged as the week progressed.
Cal Poly thrived in doubles matches during the stretch, winning the doubles point in three out of their four matches.
The team pulled out a doubles win against Boise State, but ultimately fell in the singles matches. It is the first time this season Cal Poly has won the doubles point, but not the overall match.
Player Spotlights
Senior Bastiaan Weststrate was the only Mustang to win a singles match against Boise State, continuing his impressive season.
Weststrate went undefeated in singles across the four matches, going 2-0 to improve to 7-7 on the season. He also led in each of his other unfinished singles matches before play was stopped.
Weststrate has spent the majority of the year at line No. 2 singles and doubles, where he is 10-7 overall and has found a consistent rhythm deep into the season.
However, he recently switched doubles partners, moving up to line No. 1 to play with sophomore Raz Haviv. The pair went 2-1 this week, beating the No. 74 ranked doubles pair in the nation during the Boise State match.
The new line No. 2 pair, sophomore Sean Kamyshev and freshman John Cross, also had a strong week. Kamyshev and Cross started their partnership on a 3-1 tear, locking down line No. 2 for the Mustangs.
The pair also came through on the singles side, with Cross netting a 2-1 record at line No. 3 this week and Kamyshev holding line No. 4 at an even 2-2.
Each player’s momentum contributed to two sweeps this week over Seattle and Hawai’i.
First Big West win of the year
The Mustang’s 4-0 victory over Hawai’i puts Cal Poly in the middle of the Big West standings heading into the end of the regular season.
Cal Poly powered through Hawai’i in doubles, with lines No. 1 and No. 2 securing quick 6-2 and 6-3 victories.
In singles, it was Cal Poly’s lower lines that dominated the match, ending the contest in efficient fashion.
At line No. 6, junior Aaron Eliscu continued a great run of play with a 6-2, 6-1 victory. After dropping his doubles match, Eliscu came back to dominate his opponent to begin singles action.
Cross cruised to a 6-2, 6-0 victory at line No. 3, and he sits at 5-6 after this week’s action.
Kamyshev followed his doubles partner shortly after, securing his match and the overall victory with a 6-3, 6-2 win at line No. 4.
Four out of Cal Poly’s five remaining matches are against Big West opponents.
Cal Poly is currently ranked No. 4 in the conference. However, with the majority of their conference games remaining, seeding for the Big West Championship later this April is still up in the air.
Splitting the series in Phoenix
Cal Poly traveled down to Phoenix earlier this week for back-to-back matches against Grand Canyon and Seattle.
On Wednesday, Cal Poly fell to Grand Canyon 1-4, with their only point coming from Weststrate. He took the line No. 2 match in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4, but no other Mustangs were as successful.
They quickly bounced back on Thursday, as they swept Seattle 4-0 in their last match before a stretch of Big West matchups.
Cal Poly’s doubles lines came through once again. Cross and Kamyshev cleaned up at line No. 2 6-2, and Eliscu and sophomore Wian Roothman secured the point with a 6-0 performance at line No. 3.
Cross and Kamyshev both carried their doubles momentum into singles. Cross won in straight sets once again at line No. 3, his 6-2, 6-3 outing capping off an already impressive week.
Kamyshev had the exact same scoreline at line No. 4, matching his partner’s success and putting Cal Poly up 3-0.
Freshman Jack McGary put the match to bed, winning his line No. 5 match 6-1, 6-4, also in straight sets.
Cal Poly comes back to Ronca Tennis Center in San Luis Obispo for two Big West matchups next week.
They take on UC Irvine on Sunday, April 6, before hosting UC Riverside on Tuesday, April 8.
