In the final match of the regular season, top-ranked Fresno Pacific (18-1, 14-0 GSAC) picked up a 6-3 Golden State Athletic Conference victory over eighth-ranked Westmont Men’s Tennis on Thursday afternoon at the Abbott Tennis Courts. Despite the loss, the Warriors (9-9, 6-8 GSAC) demonstrated that they are ready to compete at the upcoming NAIA National Championships. Injuries appear to be the Warriors’ biggest obstacle.
The Warriors concluded the season in fifth place in the GSAC standings. The Golden State Athletic Conference boasts six teams in the top nine of the nation and a seventh team (which is receiving votes in the national poll. Fresno pacific won the GSAC crown followed by #5 Azusa Pacific (17-4, 11-3 GSAC), #3 Concordia (15-4, 10-4 GSAC), #6 Vanguard (14-7, 8-6 GSAC), Westmont, #9 Point Loma Nazareen (11-10, 5-9 GSAC), Biola (6-15, 2-12 GSAC) and Hope International (1-19, 0-14).
Westmont’s Kent Stormans, playing at number six singles, cruised to a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Fresno Pacific’s Kevin Lott to give the Warriors an early 1-0 advantage. Tiago Hayashi then stretch the lead to 2-0 with a 7-6 (4), 6-3 win on the number three court over Denny Fafek.
However, the Sunbirds evened the match with victories on the numbers five and six courts. At number four Maxime Adam defeated Deigo Almeida 7-5, 6-1 while at number five, Jose Hilla picked up a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Arthur Kalayjian.
Westmont’s Carlos Lima battled Xavier Smith at number one. After falling 6-3 in the first set, Lima turned things around in the second and won 6-2. However, Lima suffered a pulled abdominal muscle and was forced to retire just one game into the third set. That made the score 3-2 in favor of the Sunbirds.
At number two, Bryan Cox matched up with Martine Vaisse. But Vaisse edged out Cox, winning both sets 7-6 (3).
Down 4-2, the Warriors would need to win all three doubles matches to claim the upset. Lima, however was unable to play and the Warriors were already without the services of Mattias Neuman who has been out since the Concordia match on April 17.
Faced with the unavailability of two of his players, head coach Mark Basham met with his team and put together a new doubles lineup. Basham left regular doubles partners Hayashi and Kalayjian together and assigned them to the number two court. At number one, Basham matched together Almeida and Cox to play together for the first time this season. Stormans was matched with Stephen Wertheimer for just the third time this season and asked to play at number three.
All three teams kept the battle close with the score reaching 5-4 on all three courts. In the end, however, the newly formed teams were defeated. Cox and Almeida lost 8-5 to Smith and Fafek while Stormans and Wertheimer lost 8-6. The Warriors picked up their only doubles victory at number two where Hayashi and Kalayjian defeated Adam and Vaisse 9-8 (5).
With the regular season concluded, the Warriors now wait until the release of the final NAIA national rating, which is due out on Tuesday, May 4. Westmont is expected to retain its number eight ranking and earn an at-large berth into the national tournament in Mobile, Alabama.
Seeding and pairings for the national tournament are released on Tuesday, May 11. If the Warriors are seeded in the top eight, they will receive a first round bye and their first match will be the second round on Wednesday, May 19 against the winner of a first round match. Otherwise, the Warriors will play in the first round on Tuesday, May 18. The quarterfinals are scheduled for Thursday, May 20 with the semifinals and championship games scheduled for Friday, May 21 and Saturday, May 22 respectively.
#1 Fresno Pacific def. #8 Westmont 6-3
Singles
#1 – Xavier Smith (FPU) def. Carlos Sachs Cirne Lima (WC) 6-3, 2-6, 1-0 (ret.)
#2 – Martine Vaisse (FPU) def. Bryan Cox (WC) 7-6 (3), 7-6 (3)
#3 – Tiago Hayashi (WC) def. Denny Fafek (FPU) 7-6 (4), 6-3
#4 – Maxime Adam (FPU) def. Diego Neves De Almeida (WC) 7-5, 6-1
#5 – Jose Hilla (FPU) def. Arthur Kalayjian (WC) 6-4, 6-2
#6 – Kent Stormans (WC) def. Kevin Lott (FPU) 6-2, 6-1
Doubles
#1 – Xavier Smith /Denny Fafek (FPU) def. Diego Neves De Almeida / Bryan Cox (WC) 8-5
#2 – Tiago Hayashi / Arthur Kalayjian (WC) def. Maxime Adam/Martin Vaisse (FPU) 9-8 (5)
#3 – Jose Hilla /Kevin Lott (FPU) def. Kent Stormans / Stephen Wertheimer (WC) 8-6
