Cal Poly Men’s Tennis defeated Santa Clara University 5-2 in their home opener on Saturday, Feb. 27 inside the Mustang Tennis Complex. With the win, the Mustangs improved their record to 4-4 while the Broncos (1-1) suffered their first defeat of the 2021 season.
In the doubles matchups, Cal Poly secured the point after winning two of their three contests. Redshirt sophomore Gary Vardanyan and redshirt junior Alex Stater had a strong performance winning 6-3 in their No. 3 matchup.
Redshirt senior Antoine Noel and freshman Noah Berry secured the point for the Mustangs after the pair won a close No. 2 matchup by a final score of 6-4.
The Broncos responded after their No. 4 singles player defeated redshirt freshman Joe Leather in straight sets (6-1, 6-3). The Mustangs regained the lead 2-1 after redshirt freshman Fernando Fonseca won the No. 6 matchup in straight sets (6-4, 6-3).
Then, Stater continued his strong singles play as he earned his seventh singles win of the season, winning the No. 1 matchup in straight sets (6-4, 6-3).
Prior to Saturday’s match, Stater was named the Big West Men’s Tennis Player of the Week after defeating Pepperdine’s top singles player during last week’s match against the Waves.
The Mustangs expanded their lead as Vardanyan took the victory in the No. 5 spot in straight sets (6-4, 6-2).
Despite Noel losing the No. 2 singles matchup against Broncos sophomore Mann Shah, Berry closed the day out after being down by one set and came back to win in three sets (1-6, 6-3, 6-4).
Cal Poly Men’s Tennis will look to keep their momentum as they head back on the road for three matches in Eugene, Oregon, facing off against Oregon on Friday, Mar. 5 and Sunday, Mar. 7. The Mustangs will also have a match against the University of Portland on Saturday, Mar. 6.