UC Riverside
Fourth-Seeded Cal Poly Blitzes UC Riverside in Tournament Opener
4/23/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
INDIAN WELLS, Calif. – The 54th-ranked Cal Poly men's tennis team opened defense of its Big West Conference Tournament championship from a season ago with a 4-0 victory over UC Riverside on Thursday morning at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Cal Poly – who entered this season's tournament as the fourth overall seed – made quick work of the fifth-seeded Highlanders by snatching the early momentum and never letting up.
The Mustangs will battle tournament No. 1 seed UC Irvine (and the ITA's 73rd-ranked program) in the semifinal round and a spot in Sunday's championship on Friday afternoon.
Cal Poly used a pair of 6-2 decisions in the doubles portion to grab the advantage, including the seventh consecutive triumph for the sophomore combination of Ben Donovan and Corey Pang at No. 1 over Cooper Bridge and Michael Carella. The Mustang freshman tandem of Axel Damiens and Lucas Lesoeur used the same score (6-2) to win their first match when paired together this season, defeating Luis Gastao and Sean Robles at No. 3.
Donovan and Pang improved to an astonishing 17-2 in doubles this season and are 10-1 overall in the first position.
In singles, Cal Poly senior Naveen Beasley collected his ninth victory of the season in the fifth spot with a straight-set decision (6-0, 6-1) over Carella, providing the Mustangs with a 2-0 lead. Donovan continued to work his magic at No. 1 singles, ousting UCR's Julian Ruffin (6-0, 6-0) and Pang needed only two sets to outlast Bridge at No. 3 (6-4, 6-2) to clinch the match for the Mustangs.
Donovan (pictured) reached 20 solo triumphs in a season for the first time in his collegiate career, improving to 20-12 overall this season. The sophomore won his 21st match when occupying the first position dating to last season.
Pang, meanwhile, won his tenth singles battle of the season (and the 26th of his Mustang career) and is now 10-6 at No. 3 overall.
Cal Poly sophomore Garrett Auproux had his matchup with Gastao in the second position ended prematurely due to Cal Poly's shutout victory, as did both Lesoeur at No. 5 and Damiens at No. 6, respectively.
Cal Poly (14-9) advanced to the semifinal round of the Big West Tournament to face top-seeded UC Irvine at 3 p.m. Friday afternoon. The Mustangs defeated the Anteaters earlier this season in San Luis Obispo, 4-2.
For more information regarding the entire Big West Conference men's tennis tournament, click HERE.
Singles
1. Ben Donovan (CP) def. Julian Ruffin (UCR) 6-0, 6-0
2. Garrett Auproux (CP) vs. Luis Gastao (UCR) unfinished
3. Corey Pang (CP) def. Cooper Bridge (UCR) 6-4, 6-2
4. Naveen Beasley (CP) def. Michael Carella (UCR) 6-0, 6-1
5. Lucas Lesoeur (CP) vs. Sina Sharifi (UCR) unfinished
6. Axel Damiens (CP) vs. Calvin Ngo (UCR) unfinished
Doubles
1. Ben Donovan/Corey Pang (CP) def. Cooper Bridge/Michael Carella (UCR) 6-2
2. Garrett Auproux/Devin Barber (CP) vs. Julian Ruffin/Calvin Ngo (UCR) unfinished
3. Axel Damiens/Lucas Lesoeur (CP) def. Luis Gastao/Sean Robles (UCR) 6-2
