April 18, 2009

INDIAN WELLS, Calif.  - The No. 2 seed UC Irvine men's tennis team (12-14, 4-1) defeated No. 3 seed Cal Poly Saturday morning in the Big West Conference Championships semifinals at Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

The ‘Eaters won two doubles matches to take a 1-0 lead against the Mustangs. Sophomore Khunpol Issara (Bangkok, Thailand) and freshman Sam Gould (Hamilton, New Zealand) defeated Rob Foy and Darryn Young 8-3 in No. 1 doubles. Sophomore Gautam Vaiydyanathan (University HS) and freshman Steven Henderson (Poway HS) defeated Nick Berger and Blake Wardman 8-5 in the No. 3 match.

Khunpol Issara put the ‘Eaters up 2-0 as he defeated Rob Foy 6-2, 6-2 in No. 3 singles. Freshman Fabian Matthews (Corona del Mar HS) gave UCI a 3-0 lead by defeating Andy Gerst 6-3, 6-4 in the No. 2 match. Darryn Young cut the lead to 3-1 as he defeated junior Shimpei Suzuki (Woodbridge HS) 6-2, 6-3 in the No. 6 match. Drew Jacobs beat Steven Henderson 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 at the No. 1 position to make it 3-2. Sam Gould clinched the team victory for the ‘Eaters defeating Blake Wardman 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 in No. 5 singles.

The ‘Eaters will face No. 4 seed UC Santa Barbara Sunday at 9:00 a.m. for the Big West Championship at Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

Results