Westmont Men’s Tennis took advantage of an opportunity to go head-to-head with strong opponents by competing in the UCSB Classic. The flighted event, which matched Warriors against players from NCAA Division I UCSB and Loyola Marymount, does not count as part of the team’s win-loss record.
Sophomore Bryan Cox had the Warriors only win, defeating Aris Andreasian of Loyola Marymount 7-6 (2), 6-0 on the second day of the two-day event.
“Bryan was our player of the day,” said Westmont Head Coach Mark Basham. “He was down 5-2 in the first set and then got the score to 5-all before taking it to the tiebreaker. Bryan just kept fighting and he out-competed his opponent. It was a positive thing to see Bryan, as a sophomore, win a close set. His momentum and positive attitude made it happen.”
On the first day, Cox fell to Alex Konigsfeldt of UCSB 6-2, 6-2.
“Bryan competed well against Konigsfeldt,” said Basham, “but didn’t have the knockout punch to win the points. The match was closer than the score indicated.”
Tiago Hayashi won the first set on each day of the competition, but was unable to capture a win. On Friday, Hayashi defeated UC Santa Barbara’s Mathieu Forget 6-7 (4) in the first set before losing the next two 6-1, 6-2.
“Forget continued to grind and do a better job of getting Tiago’s forcing shots back into play,” said Basham. “Tiago kept competing hard and there were a lot of close games.”
On Saturday, Loyola Marymount’s Otto Sauer gave up the first set 6-2 to Hayashi before rallying to win 6-2, 6-4.
“I thought Tiago played pretty well,” said the coach, “but I hate to see him win the first set and then not win one of the next two. He is a good player for us, though, and I think he will do just fine.”
Aaron Cooke had two strong matches against his Division I opponents. On Friday, Cooke lost to the Gauchos’ Josh Finkelstein 6-4, 7-6 (5). Then on Saturday, the junior lost to the Lions’ Borja Malet 6-3, 7-5.
“Aaron was definitely good enough to win both of these matches,” said Basham. “Against Borja, Aaron’s lower back locked up on him toward the end of the match. He even had a couple of set points at 5-4. If Aaron is physically healthy for us he is going to be a strong asset on the team.”
Diego Almeida struggled against his opponents, losing to UC Santa Barbara’s Taylor Chavez-Goggin 6-1, 6-2 and Loyola Marymount’s Johan Berfhof 6-2, 6-3.
“Diego didn’t seem to have the consistency and the foot speed,” said Basham. “Physically, Diego is still not where I think he is going to be in January and February.”
Kent Stormans had a tough go against UC Santa Barbara’s Benjamin Recknagel, losing 6-0, 6-1. The junior came back the following day with a stronger showing against Loyola Marymount’s Renzo Maggi, but lost 6-2, 7-5.
“Kent was down in the second set 4-1 and competed very hard to get it close,” said Basham about Storman’s second match. “I think Kent was feeling pretty good about his second set.”
Arthur Kalayjian lost to the Gauchos’ Max Glenn on Friday (6-1, 6-2) and to the Lion’s Geza Bazula on Saturday (6-3, 6-0).
“Doubles is the area we are going to have to work on the most,” said Basham after losing all six double sets. “We need work on our volleys, chemistry and body language.”
Cox and Almeida lost 8-0 to UCSB’s Konigsfeldt and Scott Hohenstein and 8-3 to LMU’s Sauer and Jack Zapala. Hayashi and Kalayjian fell 8-2 to both the Gaucho’s Recknagel and Lucas Sudow and the Lions’
Maggi and Malet. Stormans and Cooke had the Warriors’ best doubles showing against Santa Barbara’s Finkelstein and Chavez-Goggin, but lost 8-5. Against Loyola’s Berhof and Andreasian, the duo lost 8-4.
UCSB Classic – Day One – November 13, 2009
Singles:
Mathieu Forget (UCSB) def. Tiago Hayashi (WC) 6-7 (4), 6-1, 6-2
Alex Konigsfeldt (UCSB) def. Bryan Cox (WC) 6-2, 6-2
Taylor Chavez-Goggin (UCSB) def. Diego Almeida (WC) 6-1, 6-2
Benjamin Recknagel (UCSB) def. Kent Stormans (WC) 6-0, 6-1
Josh Finkelstein (UCSB) def. Aaron Cooke (WC) 6-4, 7-6 (5)
Max Glenn (UCSB) def. Arthur Kalayjian (WC) 6-1, 6-2
Doubles:
Alex Konigsfeldt/Scott Hohenstein (UCSB) def. Bryan Cox/Diego Almeida (WC) 8-0
Ben Recknagel/Lucas Sudow (UCSB) def. Tiago Hayashi/Arthur Kalayjian (WC) 8-2
Josh Finkelstein/Taylor Chavez-Goggin (UCSB) def. Kent Stormans/Aaron Cooke (WC) 8-5
UCSB Classic – Day Two – November 14, 2009
Singles:
Otto Sauer (LMU) def. Tiago Hayashi (WC) 2-6, 6-2, 6-4
Bryan Cox (WC) def. Aris Andreasian (LMU) 7-6 (2), 6-0
Johan Berhof (LMU) def. Diego Almeida (WC) 6-2, 6-3
Renzo Maggi (LMU) def. Kent Stormans (WC) 6-2, 7-5
Borja Malet (LMU) def. Aaron Cooke (WC) 6-3, 7-5
Geza Bazula (LMU) def. Arthur Kalayjian (WC) 6-3, 6-0
Doubles:
Otto Sauer/Jack Zapala (LMU) def. Bryan Cox/Diego Almeida (WC) 8-3
Renzo Maggi/Borja Malet (LMU) def. Tiago Hayashi/Arthur Kalayjian (WC) 8-2
Johan Berhof/Aris Andreasian (LMU) def. Kent Stormans/Aaron Cooke (WC) 8-6
