Denver
Mustangs Host Denver and Travel to Santa Clara Before Big West Opener at Hawai’i
3/22/2026 12:45:00 PM | Men's Tennis
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Cal Poly men’s tennis is refreshed after a finals-week break and ready to face the Denver Pioneers, who were regularly featured in the ITA Rankings until this week.
The Mustangs (9-5) have already surpassed last season’s win total and are building the program’s best record since 2021-22.
Individually, Aaron Eliscu is enjoying a senior season worthy of capping off his career, leading the team in singles wins (9-2) and having not conceded a result since Feb. 28.
Luc Hoeijmans (8-3) and Jack Cross (8-5) trail Eliscu in singles victories. Sean Kamyshev (7-5) recently had a five-match singles win streak snapped at No. 61 Boise State, while Hoeijmans looks to finish his first singles match since March 6.
Freshman Jovan Lubbe has rotated in and out of the No. 1 singles spot, compiling a 7-5 record while injecting youth, energy and fight into the top of the lineup despite his age and collegiate inexperience.
Although doubles has been a problem area for the Mustangs this season, with the team frequently dropping the point, both pairs featuring true freshman Leo Matthysen (4-2 with Hoeijmans, 3-2 with Haviv) have been bright spots at No. 3 doubles.
The Mustangs have a busy week ahead with three dual matches, starting with an 11 a.m. home clash against Denver on Monday. Following that, Cal Poly travels to No. 39 Santa Clara on Wednesday before opening conference play at Hawai’i on Saturday.
Denver (8-5) continues its six-match road trip with a stint on the West Coast, facing Cal Poly and Gonzaga this week. The Pioneers own a 6-2 all-time record over the Mustangs, most recently earning a 7-0 home sweep against Cal Poly in Colorado last season.
Santa Clara (10-2) is one of the West’s best teams, ranking alongside three other West Coast Conference squads: No. 18 San Diego, No. 26 Pepperdine and No. 58 LMU. The Broncos currently boast two ranked doubles pairs in No. 50 Luca Bluett / John Kim and No. 57 Tiago Boschmans / Luca Lemaitre Vilchis. The Mustangs hold a 13-11 advantage in the all-time series but have dropped three straight 6-1 results from 2023-25.
Hawai’i (8-6) swept Saint Mary’s, Sacramento State and Nevada at the Golden State Invitational a few weeks ago but recently dropped a pair of 4-2 decisions to ranked opponents in then-No. 64 UNLV and then-No. 48 LMU. The Rainbow Warriors open Big West play with a home matchup against No. 32 UC Santa Barbara on Thursday before hosting the Mustangs. In what could be the final meetings as Big West foes, Hawai’i and Cal Poly have split four matchups since 2023, including Hawai’i knocking the Mustangs out of the 2022-23 Big West Quarterfinals.
