UCSB Classic
Auproux Collects Two Wins to Lead Cal Poly at UCSB Classic
10/10/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — Cal Poly sophomore Garrett Auproux won both times he took the court on Friday afternoon to open the UCSB Classic, leading the Mustangs at their first full tournament action of the fall.
The Gaucho event features a compass-draw format (meaning each player has the opportunity to play in four singles and three doubles matches through Sunday, regardless of outcome).
In the first singles flight (held at the Rec. Center Courts), Auproux (pictured at right), who came to San Luis Obispo as a top-40 high school player nationally, swept Grand Canyon's Philip Kuehnen, 6-3, 6-3. He'll next play Cal's Hasier Pastor on Saturday morning.
Teammate Devin Barber also picked up a singles victory over a Lopes opponent, defeating Arjun Bal 6-4, 6-4 in Flight C (at the Stadium Road Complex). Barber is now matched up with a familiar face, UC Santa Barbara's Ziad Sultan.
In doubles play, Auproux and Lucas Lesoeur also topped Horea Porutiu and Kona Luu from UC San Diego, 8-5 in that first flight to advance to face J.T. Nishimura and Chase Melton of Cal.
Cal Poly's Flight C tandem, Naveen Beasley and Axel Damiens, bested the Tritons' Mark Meyer and Alexandre Miaule, also 8-5. They'll take on UC Davis' Jesse Ross and Eli Whittle next.
Barber and Tim Tan drew arguably the toughest opening-day doubles task, falling 8-2 to the Gauchos' Nathan Eshmade and Erik Johnsson. Their next opportunity is opposite Cooper Bridge and Michael Carella from another Big West Conference foe, UC Riverside.
Beasley nearly also won his singles match, losing 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) to UC Davis' Bryce McKelvie. Also in singles, Lesoeur lost 6-3, 6-2 to Nishimura; Damiens fell 6-3, 6-1 to Chase Masciorini from the host institution; and Tan dropped a 6-2, 6-0 match to Alex Roggenkamp of Grand Canyon.
Meanwhile, at the sixth annual Battle in the Bay Classic at the California Tennis Club, Cal Poly's Ben Donovan and Corey Pang also competed.
In the open doubles bracket of the San Francisco invitational, Donovan and Pang started the day in the round of 16 with an 8-5 loss to Stanford's Tom Fawcett and Yale Goldberg.
Later in the singles round of 32, both Mustangs fell in three sets: Donovan 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 to Robert Stineman (another Cardinal), and Pang 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 against Sam Bertram from Santa Clara.
