UC Irvine
Fourth-seeded Cal Poly Eliminated in Big West Tournament
4/25/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
INDIAN WELLS, Calif. – The 54th-ranked Cal Poly men's tennis team was defeated by the Big West Conference Tournament's No. 1 overall seeded UC Irvine Anteaters on Friday afternoon, 4-1 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. For the first time in four years, the fourth-seeded Mustangs failed to advance to the championship match on Sunday. Cal Poly ends their year with a 15-10 overall record, while the 73rd-ranked Anteaters improved to 20-12 and avenged an earlier season loss to the Mustangs.
UC Irvine collected the early momentum with two doubles victories in the second and third positions, including a 6-1 decision over the Cal Poly freshman tandem of Axel Damiens and Lucas Lesoeur in the third position courtesy of Sebastian Heim and Caryl Hernandez. At No. 2 doubles, the Mustang pairing of sophomore Garrett Auproux and senior Devin Barber were beaten 6-3 by Tyler Pham and Jonathan Hammel, which sealed the first point for the Anteaters.
Cal Poly's sophomore duo of Ben Donovan and Corey Pang – who had won seven consecutive doubles matchups entering the afternoon – had their battle against Jonathan Poon and Justin Agbayani in the first spot halted early duo to UCI's doubles-clinching point.
The combination of Donovan and Pang earned one of the top doubles seasons in Cal Poly men's tennis program history, finishing with a 17-2 record (11-1 in the No. 1 position). Donovan and Pang ended the season with seven consecutive doubles victories overall.
UC Irvine kept the momentum alive into the singles portion of the match, as the 'Eaters converted three of the four completed matchups into triumphs. Cal Poly's Damiens (pictured) managed the only win of the afternoon for the Mustangs, a straight-set (6-1, 6-1) decision over Poon in the sixth position. Damiens improved his overall singles resume to 12-10 overall and 9-5 at No. 6.
With the match tied at one apiece, UCI's Heim ousted Donovan in the first spot in two sets (6-0, 6-1) and Shuhei Shibahara outlasted Cal Poly senior Naveen Beasley in come-from-behind fashion (1-6, 6-3, 6-2) to provide the Anteaters with a 3-1 lead. Donovan ends his sophomore campaign with an impressive 20-13 record, including 15-8 against some of the top competition in the nation in the first spot. Beasley ends his Mustang career with a 9-4 record from No. 5 during his senior season.
UC Irvine closed out the match after Hammel completed marathon two-set, 6-2, 7-6(4) win over Lesoeur at No. 5. Both Auproux in the second spot and Pang in the third position had their matchups ended prematurely due to the Anteater's match-clinching victory.
Cal Poly's Auproux collected 14 singles successes from the second spot this season and ended his sophomore year with a 19-11 record. Lesoeur won seven matches, including four at No. 4 this season, while Pang earned 16 singles triumphs and ended 10-6 in the third position.
Cal Poly says goodbye to both Beasley and Barber, both of whom were instrumental to the Mustangs success over the last few seasons, including two Big West Tournament Championships (in 2012 and 2014) and NCAA Tournament appearances.
Singles
1. Sebastian Heim (UCI) def. Ben Donovan (CP) 6-0, 6-1
2. Tyler Pham (UCI) vs. Garrett Auproux (CP) 6-7, 6-4, unfinished
3. Nico Mertens (UCI) vs. Corey Pang (CP) 2-6, 6-3, unfinished
4. Shuhei Shibahara (UCI) def. Naveen Beasley (CP) 1-6, 6-3, 6-2
5. Jonathan Hammel (UCI) def. Lucas Lesoeur (CP) 6-2, 7-6 (7-4)
6. Axel Damiens (CP) def. Jonathan Poon (UCI) 6-1, 6-1
Doubles
1. Jonathan Poon/Justin Agbayani (UCI) vs. Ben Donovan/Corey Pang (CP) unfinished
2. Tyler Pham/Jonathan Hammel (UCI) def. Garrett Auproux/Devin Barber (CP) 6-3
3. Sebastian Heim/Caryl Hernandez (UCI) def. Axel Damiens/Lucas Lesoeur (CP) 6-1
