UC Santa Barbara
No. 50 Cal Poly Tripped Up by UC Santa Barbara
4/18/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The storied Blue-Green Rivalry went the way of the Gauchos on Saturday afternoon, as 70th-ranked UC Santa Barbara handed the 50th-ranked Cal Poly men's tennis team its second consecutive loss by a final count of 6-1. Cal Poly finishes the Big West Conference regular season at 3-2, while UCSB finished off a perfect home campaign (9-0) and also concluded conference play at 3-2 overall.
The Cal Poly doubles tandem of Ben Donovan and Corey Pang – who improved to a remarkable 16-2 when paired together this season – beat Tobias Galskov and Ziad Sultan, 6-3 in the first position. Donovan and Pang have enjoyed six consecutive doubles victories overall after ripping off eight straight earlier this season.
The Gauchos, though, would connect on two successive doubles matchups to grab the first point, including a 7-5 decision from Nathan Eshmade and Erik Johnson over Garrett Auproux and Devin Barber at No. 2. Morgan Mays and Andrew Riminton collected a 7-5 win over the Cal Poly duo of Lucas Lesoeur and Axel Damiens in the third position.
UC Santa Barbara didn't relinquish the momentum as the match headed to singles competition, with Johnsson ousting Damiens in straight sets (6-1, 6-2) at No. 6 and Cody Rakela downing Leseoeur in the fourth spot in two sets (6-3, 6-4). With UCSB up 3-0, Cal Poly's Auproux earned the only point for the Mustangs on Saturday afternoon with a straight-set victory (7-6, 6-2) over Eshmade at No. 2.
Auproux (pictured), is now 14-5 in the second position this season and has won 19 singles matchups overall (19-11).
UCSB's Mays beat Pang in back-to-back sets (7-6, 6-4) at No. 3, providing the Gauchos with a 4-1 advantage and match-clinching victory. Cal Poly senior Naveen Beasley fell to Sultan during a three-set marathon (6-4, 5-7, 6-4) in the fifth position and Galskov ended the afternoon with a three-set decision (6-2, 2-6, 6-4) over Donovan at No. 1.
Cal Poly (14-9, 3-2) will head to the Indian Wells Tennis Garden next Thursday to begin the Big West Conference Tournament. The Mustangs seek their third Big West Championship in four seasons and a return trip the NCAA Tournament.
Click HERE to follow the Cal Poly men's tennis team's Twitter account during the tournament.
Singles
1. Tobias Galskov (UCSB) def. Ben Donovan (CP) 6-2, 2-6, 6-4
2. Garrett Auproux (CP) def. Nathan Eshmade (UCSB) 7-6, 6-2
3. Morgan Mays (UCSB) def. Corey Pang (CP) 7-6, 6-4
4. Cody Rakela (UCSB) def. Lucas Lesoeur (CP) 6-3, 6-4
5. Ziad Sultan (UCSB) def. Naveen Beasley (CP) 6-4, 5-7, 6-4
6. Erik Johnsson (UCSB) def. Axel Damiens (CP) 6-1, 6-2
Doubles
1. Corey Pang/Ben Donovan (CP) def. Tobias Galskov/Ziad Sultan (UCSB) 6-3
2. Nathan Eshmade/Erik Johnsson (UCSB) def. Garrett Auproux/Devin Barber (CP) 7-5
3. Morgan Mays/Andrew Riminton (UCSB) def. Lucas Lesoeur/Axel Damiens (CP) 7-5
