Cal Poly Men's Tennis Goes For Undefeated Conference Mark

Files associated with this release:
MW Tennis Release No. 12

4/19/2012

Cal Poly (11-7, 3-0) controls its destiny for the outright Big West men's tennis regular season title and No. 1 seed at next week's conference tournament in Indian Wells.  The Mustangs must deliver wins at UC Irvine and UC Riverside to achieve both goals.

NOTEWORTHY

Cal Poly Attempts To Wrap Up Regular Season Title And No. 1 Tournament Seed
Cal Poly controls its own destiny in terms of winning the Big West men’s tennis regular season championship and gaining the No. 1 seed at next week’s conference tournament in Indian Wells.  The Mustangs (11-7, 3-0) travel to UC Irvine on Saturday and a win against the Anteaters secures the No. 1 seed and a first round tournament bye.  Cal Poly could then take home the outright regular season title with a victory at UC Riverside on Sunday.

Two wins would give Cal Poly an undefeated league slate for the second time in school history.  The Mustangs posted a 4-0 record in 2007.  They would become the third Big West team to finish league play with a undefeated record, as last year’s UC Irvine squad also went 5-0.

However, the Mustangs must first deal with the primary obstacle posed by a UC Irvine squad that has won four straight matches and seems to be peaking at the right time.  The Anteaters have played a brutal schedule this season in which 13 of their 15 losses have come to ranked teams.  At one point UCI had lost 11 in a row.  A win against Cal Poly would also strengthen UCI’s momentum for the Big West Tournament, as the Anteaters have won the last two years.

The potential for a three-way tie for the regular season championship – Cal Poly, UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara – exists if Cal Poly loses to UCI and beats UCR.

Long Beach State Finishes Undefeated In League Play Again
The Long Beach State women’s tennis team continued its impressive run of success against Big West opponents, wrapping up a perfect 8-0 ledger in conference play with Thursday’s 7-0 win against Cal State Fullerton.

The 49ers improved to 14-5 overall on the year and captured their sixth regular season title in the last seven seasons.  They also finished undefeated for the fifth time since 2006, joining the 2010 (8-0), 2009 (8-0), 2008 (8-0) and 2006 (7-0) squads to accomplish the feat.  LBSU is an incredible 39-1 in regular season conference matches since 2008, with the lone loss coming last season to UC Santa Barbara.  The 49ers are the No. 1 seed for next week’s tournament, April 26-29, in Indian Wells.  They have won the tourney title in seven of the last eight seasons.

Indian Wells To Host Big West Tennis Championships
For the ninth straight year, Indian Wells Tennis Garden is hosting the Big West Men’s and Women’s Tennis Championship.  One of the most prestigious facilities in the United States, Indian Wells will host the six men’s and nine women’s teams from April 27-29.  Long Beach State’s women and UC Irvine’s men took the 2011 crowns.  The 49ers won their seventh title in the last eight years, while the Anteaters won their second consecutive championship.