Iowa
No. 73 Cal Poly Wins Fifth Straight, Outduels No. 52 Iowa
3/19/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – The 73rd-ranked Cal Poly men's tennis team collected its fifth consecutive victory on Saturday afternoon after a 5-2 decision over 52nd-ranked Iowa at Mustang Courts. With the win, Cal Poly improved to 8-6 overall, while the Hawkeyes fell to 7-7.
Saturday's victory matches the program's longest win streak since winning five in a row from March 23 through April 4 of last season.
The Mustangs grabbed the early momentum after taking the doubles point behind a pair of wins from the second and third positions.
The Cal Poly junior tandem of Garrett Auproux and Tim Tan defeated Iowa's Josh Silverstein and Dominic Patrick at No. 2, 6-4, while the sophomore duo of Dan Cardiff and Karl Enander beat the Hawkeye pair of Nils Hallestrand and Robin Haden at No. 3, 6-4. Auproux and Tan's triumph sealed the doubles point for the Mustangs.
In singles, Auproux padded the Mustang advantage with a straight set, 6-3 and 6-2 win over Silverstein at No. 2, to provide Cal Poly with a 2-0 lead. Iowa sliced the deficit in half after a two-set decision by Jake Jacoby over Aiku Shintani at No. 6, 6-4 and 6-1.
The Hawkeyes then evened the match at two after Lefteris Theodorou downed Ben Donovan at No. 1, 7-5 and 6-2.
Cal Poly then delivered the final three points, including the match-clinching win from junior Corey Pang at No. 3 over Patrick, 4-6, 6-3 and 7-6. Pang has now won five straight matchups overall as a solo attacker and is 10-4 from the third spot this season.
Cal Poly sophomore Axel Damiens provided the Mustangs with their second lead of the afternoon behind a three-set thriller over Robin Haden at No. 5, 6-1, 2-6 and 6-2. With the Mustangs leading 3-2, it set the stage for Auproux's heroics.
Cal Poly freshman Josh Ortlip worked a come-from-behind victory over Jonas Larsen at No. 4, 2-6, 6-3 and 6-4 to put the finishing touches on the Mustang triumph.
Cal Poly (8-6) continues its season-long, eight match home stand when hosting Denver at 12:00 p.m. Friday, March 25 at Mustang Courts.
