A break in the rainy weather allowed Westmont men’s tennis to open the 2009 season with a 9-0 sweep of the La Verne Leopards (0-1) on Saturday at the Abbott Tennis Courts.
“It was a good season opener and I’m really glad were able to get this match in despite the weather conditions,” said Westmont head coach Chris Elwood. “With two days of no practice, this is a great way for my team to prep up for next week and a tough Cal Lutheran team next Saturday.”
Because of the threat of more rain, the singles matches were played first. Westmont won all but six games in the six matches and did not give up a set.
“It was a good first match,” said sophomore Aaron Cooke who played at number four singles. “Everyone played well together and everyone got into a college mindset. It can be tough for guys to switch over from high school to college.”
Cooke defeated La Verne’s Wesley Dean 6-0, 6-0 before teaming up with Diego Almeida at number two doubles and picking up an 8-0 win over Adrian Laygo and Joe Matsuoka.
“I was very pleased with how efficient the guys were today,” said Elwood. “I challenged them at the beginning to minimize their laps of concentration which you often see early in the season. It was a good overall performance. Every player had very strong scores against their opponents.
A junior transfer from Santa Barbara City College, Mattias Neuman played at number one singles for the Warriors where he defeated Laygo 6-1, 6-0. Almeida, a transfer from Ventura City College, played at number two, picking up a 6-0, 6-0 victory over Richard Delgado.
At number three singles, freshman Bryan Cox picked up his first collegiate victory with a 6-3, 6-0 win over Alex Muresan.
“Bryan is our player of the game today,” said Elwood. “He had a strong game against a former member of the Azusa Pacific national championship team.”
Kent Stromans earned a 6-0, 6-0 win at number five over Nick Mitzenmacher while Ryley Schultz defeated Joe Matsuoka 6-1, 6-1 at number six.
In the number one doubles match, Neuman teamed up with Cox to take on Delgado and Muresan. With a 4-3 lead, the Westmont duo held serve to post a 5-3 advantage. Neuman and Cox did not allow the Leopards another game, winning 8-3.
“I was particularly pleased with number one doubles today,” said Elwood. “That was a pretty good team that we were facing. To pull that game out 8-3 was solid.”
Schultz and Stormans took care of business on the number three court, sweeping Mitzenmacher and Mark Rivas 8-0.
Based on today’s performance, the team has a lot of reason for optimism.
This team as so much talent and ability that I see it going really far,” said Cooke. “Our goals are the same they always are – to get to nationals and to get far in that. I think that with this lineup and the way we are going to be challenging each other in practice all year that we have a really good shot at making that.”
WESTMONT 9 LA VERNE 0
Singles
#1 – Hans Mattias Neuman (WC) def. Adrian Laygo (ULV) 6-1, 6-0
#2 – Diego Neves De Almeida (WC) def. Richard Delgado (ULV) 6-0, 6-0
#3 – Bryan Cox (WC) def. Alex Muresan (ULV) 6-3, 6-0
#4 – Aaron Cooke (WC) def. Wesley Dean (ULV) 6-0, 6-0
#5 – Kent Stormans (WC) def. Nick Mitzenmacher (ULV) 6-0, 6-0
#6 – Ryley Schultz (WC) def. Joe Matsuoka (ULV) 6-1, 6-1
Doubles
#1 – Hans Mattias Neuman / Bryan Cox (WC) def. Richard Delgado/Alex Muresan (ULV) 8-3
#2 – Diego Neves De Almeida / Aaron Cooke (WC) def. Adrian Laygo/Joe Matsuoka (ULV) 8-0
#3 – Ryley Schultz / Kent Stormans (WC) def. Nick Mitzenmacher/Mark Rivas (ULV) 8-0
