UNLV
No. 73 Cal Poly Extends Win Streak, Defeats UNLV 5-2
4/11/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – Contesting its third match in as many days, the 73rd-ranked Cal Poly men's tennis team won its fourth straight matchup overall with a 5-2 win over UNLV on Monday morning at Mustang Courts. After the Rebels evened the match once and cut the lead to one on another occasion, Cal Poly pulled away with singles victories from sophomore Axel Damiens and freshman Sreyas Kolachalam.
"It was a solid match for us today, especially given the travel demands of the past few days," Cal Poly head coach Nick Carless said. The Mustangs won their previous two matchups over the weekend and returned home to host the Rebels after the regularly scheduled match with UNLV was rained out in March.
Cal Poly (12-8 overall, 3-0 Big West) won its ninth match during an 11-match string and improved to 8-3 at home this season.
The Cal Poly junior tandem of Ben Donovan and Corey Pang defeated Jakob Amilon and Ruben Alberts from the first position, 6-3, to seal the doubles point for the Mustangs. Donovan and Pang improved to 8-4 in dual match play when paired together this season.
Cal Poly juniors Garrett Auproux and Tim also won their doubles matchup over UNLV's Evaldo Neto and Charlie Croxford in the second position, 6-2, paving the way for Donovan and Pang's clincher.
After UNLV evened the match at one, junior Corey Pang won his 11th consecutive singles match overall with a straight set ousting of Alberts from the third position, 6-4 and 6-3. Donovan took his matchup with Amilon at No. 1, 6-3 and 7-5, providing Cal Poly a 3-1 advantage.
UNLV was able to cut the lead to one after a win by Alex Cozbinov from the second position over Auproux, 6-2 and 7-5, but a comeback victory by Damiens (pictured) over Richard Solberg in the fifth position, 1-6, 6-0 and 6-4 cemented the match for Cal Poly.
"Axel did a great job fighting back after a slow start to clinch our fourth point and the match for us," Carless said.
Cal Poly freshman Sreyas Kolachalam remained unbeaten in dual match play with a 5-7, 6-1 and 6-2 win over Croxford in the sixth position. Kolachalam is 3-0 this season for the Mustangs after entering the rotation recently.
"With the consistency of the bottom of our lineup improving, our team is getting tougher and tougher to beat," said Carless.
Cal Poly welcomes UC Davis (15-3, 2-0) for a 2 p.m. Saturday matchup at Mustang Courts. Admission is free.
