UC Santa Barbara
No. 63 Cal Poly Defeated by UC Santa Barbara in Title Match
4/24/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – Despite taking the early lead after winning the doubles point, the 63rd-ranked Cal Poly men's tennis team was unable to maintain the momentum during a 5-2 loss to 47th-ranked UC Santa Barbara on Saturday afternoon at Mustang Courts. Both the Mustangs and Gauchos entered action on Saturday with identical 4-0 records in Big West action, as UC Santa Barbara won the regular season conference title with the victory.
Cal Poly (13-9 overall, 4-1 Big West) collected the early advantage after the junior tandem of Garrett Auproux and Tim Tan won their fifth straight doubles match with a 7-6 win over UCSB's Nicolas Moreno and Anders Holm from the second position. Auproux and Tan have now won five consecutive doubles matchups overall and are a team-best 11-6 when partnered together this season.
The Cal Poly junior combo of Ben Donovan and Corey Pang evened the doubles portion with the Gauchos after a 6-3 win over Nathan Eshmade and Miles Seemann, 6-3 from the first position. Donovan and Pang moved to 10-5 from No. 1 during dual match play.
UC Santa Barbara would then collect the next three singles points for a 3-1 lead, until Donovan (pictured) won his sixth successive singles matchup with a straight set, 6-4 and 6-4 decision over Eshmade from the first position, trimming the UCSB lead to only one, 3-2.
UC Santa Barbara's Moreno then outlasted Auproux from the second spot, 6-3, 2-6 and 6-4 to clinch the match – and the Big West Conference regular season title – for the Gauchos.
Cal Poly junior Corey Pang had his 12-match solo win streak halted after a 6-3, 6-2 defeat to UCSB's Morgan Mays in the third position.
Cal Poly (the No. 2 seed and will receive a first-round bye) begins its quest to capture its third Big West Conference Tournament title over the last five years when taking on the No.3/No.6 winner at 3 p.m. Thursday, April 28 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. The No. 3 seed (UC Davis) and No. 6 seed (Hawai'i) play at 9 a.m. Wednesday, April 27.
