Cal Poly Men’s Tennis concluded their final road trip of the regular season in a 4-1 loss to then third-seeded UC Irvine.
This was the first blemish on the Mustangs’ (13-8, 4-1 Big West) in-conference record, dropping them to sole possession of second place in the Big West.
With the loss, the Mustangs’ win streak of four consecutive matches was snapped.
Issues in Irvine
Alarm bells had begun to ring toward the beginning of the dual.
To kick off the match, Cal Poly lost the doubles point in consecutive sets. Prior to the dual with the Anteaters, the Mustangs had yet to concede the doubles point in conference play and, in similar fashion, had not dropped a doubles set to a Big West opponent.
Down one point entering singles play for the first time since March 25, Cal Poly attempted to claw its way back into the match.
Junior Raz Haviv cruised to an early 6-3, 6-1 victory at the No. 4 line to tie the dual up at one point apiece. This was Haviv’s first victory in 11 tries, dating back to the Mustangs’ match with Dartmouth in late February which saw Haviv triumph over his No. 3-seeded counterpart 6-4, 6-1.
Haviv’s victory proved to be the only win Cal Poly would be able to muster. The Mustangs would concede the next three sets to drop the overall dual to Irvine.
The three-point match differential does not reflect the total grit of the match, however. Of the six total singles matches played in the afternoon, just two matches concluded without going into extra sets to bring the match’s total runtime to just over two and a half hours.
The Season Finale
Cal Poly will conclude regular season play this Friday in their final match at the Ronca Tennis Center of the 2025-2026 athletic season.
The Mustangs will face rival UC Santa Barbara in the annual “Blue-Green” rivalry match. The outcome of the dual will have significant implications toward conference standings at the end of the season, as well as seedings for the Big West tournament.
With a victory over the Gauchos and an Anteaters loss, Cal Poly would take the top seed of the conference and secure a bye past the postseason tournament’s first two rounds.