New Mexico
Cal Poly Captures Home Win Over No. 58 New Mexico, 4-3
2/13/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Despite dropping the doubles point and falling behind early, the Cal Poly men's tennis team snatched consecutive singles victories twice and beat No. 58 New Mexico, 4-3 at
Mustang Courts on Friday afternoon.
Sophomore Corey Pang clinched the match for the Mustangs (4-3) in dramatic fashion, serving at No. 3 and up 5-4 against the Lobos' Rodolfo Jauregui.
"Corey played the point as good as you could have played it," assistant coach Mike Marquez said. "He played a massive serve out wide, great pick-up volley, and used a forehand volley for the winner."
Sophomore Ben Donovan – who improved to 10-5 in singles this season – scratched his way to victory at No.1 over Mitch McDaniels and gave the Mustangs their first lead after senior Naveen Beasley had defeated New Mexico's James Hignett in straight sets at No. 5 to tie the match at one apiece. Donovan was down 4-1 in the second set before rallying for the win.
"Donovan showed again why he is our No. 1 player," Marquez said. "He's just so composed under pressure."
After New Mexico's Jorge Escutia defeated freshman Karl Enander at No. 6, the match was tied at two and set the stage for Garrett Auproux. The sophomore clawed his way to a three-set victory against Hayden Sabatka at No. 2 and provided the Mustangs with a crucial point in the match, leading 3-2.
"Garrett had a tough run indoors last weekend (against Pacific and Sacramento State)," Marquez said. "Today was a different story. He showed commitment and awareness to every shot and never let up in the third set."
Cal Poly improved to 3-0 at home this season and knocked off an ITA top-60 opponent in comeback fashion.
"As a coach, I was really proud of the match today, especially since we're learning from our early-season mistakes," head coach Nick Carless commented.
Pang and senior Devin Barber collected the doubles win for the Mustangs, knocking off Jauregui and Escutia in dominant fashion, 6-0. The duo improved to 4-4 as a unit this season.
Cal Poly continues its home stand at 10 a.m. Sunday against San Francisco, which boasts the No. 31-ranked doubles team of Bernardo Saraiva and Nils Skajaa. Attendance at Mustang Courts is free.
"We don't get to enjoy this win for long," Carless said. "We have a fantastic team in San Francisco coming in this Sunday."
