INDIAN WELLS – Westmont (11-9) shut out the Eagles of Concordia 5-0 in the semifinals of the Golden State Athletic Conference Men’s Tennis Tournament to earn a place in tomorrow’s final. The Warriors will take on top-seeded and third-ranked Vanguard (20-0) at 10:00 a.m. in the championship game. The tournament is being conducted at Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
Westmont, seeded number two in the tournament and ranked number five in the NAIA, swept the doubles matches to take a 3-0 lead. Playing at number two, Rodrigo Schaefer and Joshua Barnard eased their way into the first point for the Warriors with an 8-2 victory over Micah Groom and Patrick Szeremeta.
The second point came at number one doubles where Tim Goranson and John Bertram notched an 8-5 win over Bruno Kliskinic and Christ Wickenhauser. Lukas Zielen and Travis Kimsey completed the sweep with an 8-5 win at number three over Marc Reddman and Farren Casad.
“I decided recently to put Lukas with Travis at number three, thinking that Lukas’ knowledge and intensity would be a good thing for Travis,” said Westmont head coach Mark Basham. “I was certainly happy to see them come out on top today.
John and Tim have done a great job all year at number one and when Rodrigo and Josh have played together they have been a very formidable team. I’m thinking ahead for nationals. This may be our best combination of three teams.”
Playing at number five and six singles respectively, Barnard and Nick Szyndlar secured the final two points needed for the victory. Barnard posted a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Szeremeta while Szyndlar won 6-2, 6-1 over Casad.
“It is great to see Nick picking his game up,” said Basham. “He is playing smoother tennis. He’s not trying to hit as hard and that is helping his balance on his shots.
“Josh has been playing at four all year. I had to think hard about where to put Josh and Lukas when Lukas got healthy and was ready to play. Lukas is such an attacking player and a pretty big hitter, so it is probably best to put Lukas at four and Josh at five. When Lukas is healthy, which I think he is now, he can get some good wins at number four”
Zielen lost 6-0 in the first set at number four but was ahead 5-4 in the second set when it was suspended because Westmont had secured the necessary five points to win the match.
“Lukas still needs some more matches and work on his footwork and his strength,” said Basham. “He is probably not quite at 100 percent with his confidence in his ability to move hard and get to shots. I hope that he will continue to be able to build and be in peak form for nationals.”
At number one, Goranson won the first set 7-5 over Kliskinic and led the second 4-3 before it was suspended. On the number two court, Schaefer took the first set 6-4 and led the second 4-3 over Wickenhauser. John Bertram lost the first set on court number three but was leading the second 4-3 over Marc Reddmann.
Tomorrow’s championship match will determine the winner of the GSAC automatic qualification berth into the NAIA National Championship Tournament which will be held May 14-18 in Mobile, Alabama. The Lions won the first two meetings between the two teams by scores of 7-2 on February 16 and 6-3 on March 16. The loser of tomorrow’s match, along with #10 Concordia, is expected to receive an at-large berth.
“Vanguard is a very strong team,” said Basham. “If we can get out to a solid start and win two out of three, if not three out of three, of the doubles matches, we have a fighting chance. With Lukas back in the line up, I am excited to see how the guys respond. I think it is imperative that we win at number one or number two singles tomorrow.”
