BIG WEST MEN'S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP FIRST ROUND
No. 4 UC Riverside (4) vs. No. 5 Pacific (3)
Friday, April 27, 2007
Indian Wells Tennis Garden - Indian Wells, CA

No. 4 men's seed UC Riverside defeated No. 5 Pacific 4-3 in a back-and-forth affair that ended with Highlander junior Hakop Tadevosian winning a three-set match at No. 4 singles. The Highlanders advance to Saturday's Big West Championship men's semifinals at Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

UCR improved to 10-11 on the year, winning its first Big West Tournament match since 2005 and advancing to the semifinal round for the first time. The Tigers finished their season 3-18.

The Highlanders captured the all-important doubles point thanks to wins at the No. 1 and No. 3 positions. Joe Cartledge and Mark Contreras edged Moritz Starke and Vladimir Zdravkovic 8-2 at No. 1, followed by Gorjan Kovacevic and Tadevision prevailing 8-3 at No. 3 over the Tigers' duo of Robert Price and Pedro Toledo.

With the match tied 3-3, the focus was on the battle between No. 4 singles players Alan Kelly of Pacific and Tadevosian. Tadevosian took the first set 6-2, but Kelly stormed back to claim the second set 6-1. Tadevosian clinched the match and the win for the Highlanders by winning 6-4 in the third set.

The teams traded points before Tadevosian's heroics. Pacific got on the board at No. 1 with Moritz Starke winning 6-0, 6-3 against Mark Contreras. UCR went up 2-1 as Jordan Peana downed Chase Oliphant (6-2, 6-3) at No. 5. But the Tigers responded at No. 3 when Vegerd Veskimagi triumphed over Kovacevic 6-4, 6-2. UCR untied the match again with a win at No. 2, then watched it become deadlocked again as Pacific won at No. 6.

UCR faces top-seeded Cal Poly in the Big West semifinals at 9:00 a.m. Saturday.

DOUBLES

1. Cartledge/Contreras (UCR) def. Starke/Zdravkovic (PAC) - 8-2
2. Peana/Pedraum Rouhafza (UCR) vs. Veskimagi/Kelly (PAC) - DNF
3. Kovacevic/Tadevosian (UCR) def. Price/Pedro Toledo (PAC) - 8-3

SINGLES

1. Moritz Starke (PAC) def. Mark Contreras (UCR) - 6-0, 6-3
2. Joe Cartledge (UCR) def. Vladimir Zdravkovic (PAC) - 4-6, 6-3, 6-2
3. Vegerd Veskimagi (PAC) def. Gorjan Kovacevic (UCR) - 6-4, 6-2
4. Hakop Tadevosian (UCR) def. Alan Kelly (PAC) - 6-2, 1-6, 6-4
5. Jordan Peana (UCR) def. Chase Oliphant (PAC) - 6-2, 6-3
6. Robert Price (PAC) def. Dershung Lee (UCR) - 6-4, 6-1