UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara To Battle In Men's Tennis Final

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Scott Hohenstein rallied for a three-set victory at No. 3 singles to give UC Santa Barbara the 4-3 victory against Pacific.

UC SANTA BARBARA STORMS BACK TO TAKE 4-3 VICTORY

No. 4 UC Santa Barbara outlasted top-seeded Pacific, 4-3, in the semifinals of the Big West Men's Tennis Championship Saturday at Indian Wells Tennis Garden.  The Gauchos overcame a 3-1 deficit to win the final three singles matches.

The win gives UC Santa Barbara an opportunity to claim its fourth straight tournament title.  The Gauchos will face No. 2 seed UC Irvine at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday.

UC Santa Barbara started the match by taking the doubles point with victories at the No. 1 and 2 positions.  Scott Hohenstein and Evan Jurgensen picked up an 8-6 win at No. 2 against Artem Gramma and Karl-Erik Paaro to clinch the point.

Singles play began with Pacific collecting two points at the bottom of the ladder.  Paaro won his match at No. 5 against Taylor Chavez Goggin, 6-3, 6-2.  At No. 6, Christian Kuehne held off Mathieu Forget by a 6-4, 6-4 score.  The Tigers pumped up the lead to 3-1 when Gramma knocked off UCSB's Josh Finkelstein in straight sets, 7-5, 6-4.

The Gauchos went into comeback mode from there.  At No. 1 Alex Konigsfeldt rallied from a first set loss to take the second set and led 1-0 in the third when his opponent, Moritz Starke, had to retire from the match due to leg cramps.  The final score of that match was 6-7 (6), 6-3, 1-0 (ret.)

Max Taylor then engineered a come-from-behind victory at No. 4 as he dispatched the Tigers' Vegerd Veskimagi 5-7, 7-5, 6-0.  With the score tied 3-3, the match came down to a battle at No. 3 between Scott Hohenstein of UC Santa Barbara and Renan Delsin of Pacific.  The Gaucho junior fought back from a first set loss to take the next two sets and win 5-7, 6-4, 6-2.

UC Santa Barbara improved its overall record to 10-12 on the season, while Pacific fell to 12-7.

BIG WEST MEN'S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP
INDIAN WELLS TENNIS GARDEN • INDIAN WELLS, CALIF.
SATURDAY, APRIL 18, 2009 • SEMIFINALS
NO. 4 UC SANTA BARBARA 4, NO. 1 PACIFIC 3

DOUBLES
1. Finkelstein/Konigsfeldt (UCSB) def. Delsin/Starke (PAC) - 8-3
2. Hohenstein/Evan Jurgensen (UCSB) def. Gramma/Paaro (PAC) - 8-6
3. Ryan Kim/Kuehne (PAC) vs. Nick Caledonia/Chavez Goggin (UCSB) - DNF

Order of Finish: 2, 1

SINGLES
1. Alex Konigsfeldt (UCSB) def. Moritz Starke (PAC) - 6-7 (6), 6-3, 1-0 (ret.)
2. Artem Gramma (PAC) def. Josh Finkelstein (UCSB) - 7-5, 6-4
3. Scott Hohenstein (UCSB) def. Renan Delsin (PAC) - 5-7, 6-4, 6-2
4. Max Taylor (UCSB) def. Vegerd Veskimagi (PAC) - 5-7, 7-5, 6-0
5. Karl-Erik Paaro (PAC) def. Taylor Chavez Goggin (UCSB) - 6-3, 6-2
6. Christian Kuehne (PAC) def. Mathieu Forget (UCSB) - 6-4, 6-4

Order of Finish: 6, 5, 2, 1, 4, 3

NO. 2 UC IRVINE REACHES MEN'S FINALS WITH 4-2 WIN

No. 2 UC Irvine captured a 4-2 victory against No. 3 Cal Poly in the semifinals of the Big West Men's Tennis Championship at Indian Wells Tennis Garden Saturday.  The Anteaters will face No. 4 seed UC Santa Barbara for the championship at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday.

UCI roared to a 1-0 lead as its No. 1 and 3 doubles teams came through with victories for the doubles point.  Steven Henderson and Gautam Vaidyanathan were 8-5 victors at No. 3 over Cal Poly's Nick Berger and Blake Wardman.

In singles play, Khunpol Issara gave the Anteaters a 2-0 lead with a straight sets victory over Rob Foy at No. 3.  Fabian Matthews then gave UCI what looked like an insurmountable 3-0 advantage as he defeated Andy Gerst 6-3, 6-4.

However, the Mustangs did not quit, taking the next two points.  Darryn Young rolled to a 6-2, 6-3 win against Shimpei Suzuki at No. 6 and Drew Jacobs followed suit at No. 1, recovering from a first set loss to win 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 against Henderson.

The comeback ended there as UCI clinched the match at the No. 5 position.  Sam Gould outlasted Blake Wardman 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 to send the Anteaters to their first final since 2005, the last year UCI won the title.

UC Irvine is now 12-14 on the season while Cal Poly finishes 11-10.

BIG WEST MEN'S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP
INDIAN WELLS TENNIS GARDEN • INDIAN WELLS, CALIF.
SATURDAY, APRIL 18, 2009 • SEMIFINALS
NO. 2 UC IRVINE 4, NO. 3 CAL POLY 2

DOUBLES
1. Gould/Issara (UCI) def. Foy/Young (CP) - 8-3
2. Jon Kazarian/Zac Tsai (UCI) vs. Gerst/Sonesson (CP) - DNF
3. Henderson/Gautam Vaidyanathan (UCI) def. Nick Berger/Wardman (CP) - 8-5

Order of Finish: 1, 3

SINGLES
1. Drew Jacobs (CP) def. Steven Henderson (UCI) - 3-6, 7-5, 6-4
2. Fabian Matthews (UCI) def. Andy Gerst (CP) - 6-3, 6-4
3. Khunpol Issara (UCI) def. Rob Foy (CP) - 6-2, 6-2
4. Stephen Stege (UCI) vs. Alex Sonesson (CP) - DNF
5. Sam Gould (UCI) def. Blake Wardman (CP) - 6-3, 5-7, 6-2
6. Darryn Young (CP) def. Shimpei Suzuki (UCI) - 6-2, 6-3

Order of Finish: 3, 2, 6, 1, 5