Mustangs Start Big West Tournament Saturday as No. 2 Seed

Saturday, April 30

San Diego, CA

9 A.M.

UC Irvine

Photo by: Owen Main | Cal Poly Athletics

Mustangs Start Big West Tournament Saturday as No. 2 Seed

4/27/2022 12:05:00 PM | Men's Tennis

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Cal Poly, who finished as co-champions of the Big West during the regular season, will head into this week's Big West Tournament as the No. 2 seed and receive a first-round bye into the semifinals. The No. 60 Mustangs (15-5) will play their first match Saturday at 9 a.m. against No. 3 seed UC Irvine at the Barnes Tennis Center in San Diego. If the Mustangs win their semifinal match Saturday, they will advance to Sunday's championship match which will take place at 9 a.m. Cal Poly is seeking to win its first Big West Tournament title since 2014 when the Mustangs won as a No. 2 seed. Cal Poly has reached the championship match the last five tournaments but have lost in each one to UCSB, this year's No. 1 seed. The Mustangs have been playing strong tennis all season and finished the regular season winning six of their final seven matches. They went 5-1 in Big West play with their only loss coming to UCSB in the final match of the regular season. Cal Poly has been led in singles this season by sophomore Noah Berry, who is ranked 125th in the country. Playing at the No. 1 spot in the lineup, Berry has a record of 13-4 and has won five straight matches heading into Saturday's match. Other big contributors in singles this season have been redshirt sophomores Joe Leather, who is 9-5 at the No. 2 spot, and Colter Smith who is 9-4 while mostly playing from the No. 3 spot in the lineup. In doubles, the Mustangs have been strong across the board to the tune of a combined record of 33-17. At the No. 1 spot, Leather and graduate student Hendrik Inno are 11-6. At the No. 2 spot, Smith and freshman Bastiaan Weststrate are 9-5, including a 7-3 record solely at the No. 2 spot. At the No. 3 spot, Berry and redshirt sophomore Fernando Fonseca are 11-5.