Mustang Men’s Tennis and Head Coach Carless Unveil 2026 Spring Schedule
12/9/2025 3:00:00 PM | Men's Tennis
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SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — With a rebuilt roster and momentum from a productive fall, Head Coach Nick Carless and Director of Athletics Carter Henderson have announced the 2026 spring schedule for Cal Poly Men's Tennis.
Entering his 15th season as one of Cal Poly's longest-tenured coaches, Carless is optimistic after a strategic rebuild. The Mustangs return five of eleven players from a squad that went 8-15 last spring and reached the Big West Championship quarterfinals.
Last spring was one of the toughest seasons in my tenure. That motivated us to rebuild, bringing in new players and retaining our core. We’re now very close to our ideal roster.Head Coach Nick Carless
A Promising Fall Foundation
The rebuild showed immediate promise this fall. The Mustangs opened at the Sherwood Collegiate Cup, posting a 14-8 singles record against elite national programs. Freshman Jovan Lubbe announced his arrival with a statement win over a UCLA opponent, while the Israeli duo of Sean Kamyshev and Raz Haviv swept their matches on day one.
At the Big West Masters Qualifier, the top of the lineup shined again. Lubbe marched to the singles semifinals, and he teamed with Kamyshev to contend for the doubles title. Elsewhere, Aaron Eliscu battled to the satellite invitational final, showing marked improvement, and freshmen Denzel Seetso and Derek Hafiz earned their first collegiate victories.
The team split for the USTA SoCal Intercollegiates and the Aggie Invitational, with multiple Mustangs recording wins and advancing to quarterfinals in both singles and doubles. They capped the major fall events at the ITA Southwest Regionals, starting a perfect 4-0 in singles on the first day and securing main-draw victories in doubles, including a win over a UCLA pair.
Our fall was very productive, with a lot of player development. Jack Cross elevated his game, and our freshmen, especially Jovan, competed well. They will challenge for lineup spots all season.Head Coach Nick Carless
A Motivated 2026 Spring Slate
The Mustangs now turn to a challenging spring schedule, featuring tough non-conference tests and renewed Big West rivalries.
The season launches on the road at Cal (Jan. 16) before the home opener at the Ronca Tennis Center. Fans can catch a tri-meet featuring matches against Saint Mary’s (Jan. 31) and New Mexico (Feb. 2), plus a neutral-site clash between those two opponents.
Home action continues with a second consecutive tri-meet against Nevada (Feb. 6) and LMU (Feb. 7). February then sees the Mustangs travel to Spokane for a Gonzaga-hosted tri-meet, facing Weber State (Feb. 15) before taking on the Bulldogs (Feb. 16).
A major road trip follows to Chicago for the season's only quad-dual. Cal Poly will face DePaul and Dartmouth in a doubleheader (Feb. 28), then take on Army (Feb. 29). The final home tri-dual welcomes San Diego State (Mar. 6) and Pacific (Mar. 8).
Non-conference play concludes with a road swing to Boise State (Mar. 13) and Montana State (Mar. 14), a home match against Denver (Mar. 23), and a final road test at Santa Clara (Mar. 25).
Big West Conference Play
In their final season with the current conference alignment, the Mustangs will host UC Davis (Apr. 3) and UC Santa Barbara (Apr. 17) for the last time as conference foes, and welcome future Big West postseason hosts UC San Diego (Apr. 4). Road conference trips include a final in-conference visit to Hawai’i (Mar. 28), plus matches at UC Riverside (Apr. 9) and UC Irvine (Apr. 10).
The season culminates at the 2026 Big West Championship, held from April 23-26 in La Jolla, Calif., where the Mustangs will aim for an elusive conference title.
Our goal is to reclaim our position; back in the national rankings and winning the conference. Since I’ve been here, the standard has been to compete for a title, and we’ve reached the finals seven times. Last year was an anomaly. Now, with this roster, we have what it takes to get over the hump.Head Coach Nick Carless
