BIG WEST MEN'S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP SEMIFINALS
No. 3 UC Santa Barbara (4) vs. No. 2 UC Irvine (3)
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Indian Wells Tennis Garden - Indian Wells, CA

After four hours of tennis in searing heat, the UC Santa Barbara men's team pulled out an exhausting 4-3 semifinal victory against UC Irvine at Indian Wells Tennis Garden Saturday. UCSB junior Jack Hui won in three sets at the No. 4 spot for the clinching point.

With the win, the No. 3 seed Gauchos are in Sunday's championship match against top-seeded Cal Poly. UCSB is participating in the finals for the fifth time in the last six years. The Gauchos won titles in 2002, 2003 and 2006. The Mustangs are making their first appearance in the finals.

Doubles was hotly contested, especially at the No. 3 position where the coveted point was determined. After splitting at No. 1 and No. 2, the focus shifted to UCSB's Josh Finkelstein and Nigel Barton, which eked out a 9-7 win over the UCI tandem of Victor Lamm and Alex Sundling.

UCI regained the momentum though and pulled ahead 2-1 in the match. At No. 1 singles, Aaron Yovan had an easy time against Bijan Hejazi to win 6-2, 6-0. Shimpei Suzuki won 6-3, 6-3 over Finkelstein at No. 5.

UCSB thrust back ahead as Max Taylor and Anders Dalskov won at No. 6 and No. 2, respectively. Taylor knocked off Zac Tsai 6-3, 6-4 while Dalskov beat Lamm by nearly the same score, 6-4, 6-3.

At No. 3, the Anteaters evened the match when Mustafa Ululan outlasted Philip Therp 7-5, 6-4, setting up the showdown between Hui and UCI sophomore Trevor Dobson.

Hui dropped the first set 6-3 and won 7-6 in the second set, including 7-5 in the tiebreaker. With the match tied 4-4 in the third set, Hui broke Dobson's serve and served out the match in the next game to win 6-4.

UCSB improved to 5-18 with the win, while UCI ended its season at 11-12.

UC Santa Barbara 4, UC Irvine 3

DOUBLES

1. Yovan/Ulukan (UCI) def. Therp/Hui (UCSB) - 8-4
2. Dalskov/Robertson (UCSB) def. Dobson/Tsai (UCI) - 8-5
3. Finkelstein/Nigel Barton (UCSB) def. Lamm/Alex Sundling (UCI) - 9-7

SINGLES

1. Aaron Yovan (UCI) def. Bijan Hejazi (UCSB) - 6-2, 6-0
2. Anders Dalskov (UCSB) def. Victor Lamm (UCI) - 6-4, 6-3
3. Mustafa Ulukan (UCI) def. Philip Therp (UCSB) - 7-5, 6-4
4. Jack Hui (UCSB) def. Trevor Dobson (UCI) - 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4
5. Shimpei Suzuki (UCI) def. Josh Finkelstein (UCSB) - 6-3, 6-3
6. Max Taylor (UCSB) def. Zac Tsai (UCI) - 6-3, 6-4

BIG WEST MEN'S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP SEMIFINALS
No. 1 Cal Poly (4) vs. No. 4 UC Riverside (1)
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Indian Wells Tennis Garden - Indian Wells, CA

Top-seeded Cal Poly advanced to the finals of the Big West Men's Tennis Championship for the first time in school history with a 4-1 victory over No. 4 UC Riverside at Indian Wells Tennis Garden Saturday.

Cal Poly improved to 11-12 on the year and will meet either No. 2 UC Irvine or No. 3 UC Santa Barbara in Sunday's championship match at 9:00 a.m. UC Riverside, which made its first-ever semifinals appearance, finished its season at 10-12.

The Mustangs wrapped up the doubles point quickly, taking wins at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions. At No. 2, Darryn Young and Rob Foy blanked Jordan Peana and Pedraum Rouhafza 8-0. Fred Dewitte and Nick Berger defeated Gorjan Kovacevic and Hakop Tadevosian at No. 3.

The Highlanders knotted the match at 1-1 when Joe Cartledge earned a 6-2, 6-1 victory at No. 2 singles over Young. But the Mustangs responded with wins at the bottom of the ladder. Foy defeated Peana 6-1, 6-4 at No. 5 and Berger beat Dershung Lee 6-3, 6-0 at No. 6.

Cal Poly clinched the match at the No. 3 position as Kyle Roybal outlasted Kovacevic by a 7-6 (5), 6-3 score.

Cal Poly 4, UC Riverside 1

DOUBLES

1. Baca/Roybal (CP) def. Cartledge/Contreras (UCR) - DNF
2. Young/Foy (CP) def. Peana/Pedraum Rouhafza (UCR) - 8-0
3. Dewitte/Berger (CP) def. Kovacevic/Tadevosian (UCR) - 8-3

SINGLES

1. Matt Baca (CP) vs. Mark Contreras (UCR) - DNF
2. Joe Cartledge (UCR) def. Darryn Young (CP) - 6-2, 6-1
3. Kyle Roybal (CP) def. Gorjan Kovacevic (UCR) - 7-6 (5), 6-3
4. Fred Dewitte (CP) vs. Hakop Tadevosian (UCR) - DNF
5. Rob Foy (CP) def. Jordan Peana (UCR) - 6-1, 6-4
6. Nick Berger (CP) def. Dershung Lee (UCR) - 6-3, 6-0