With the bittersweet taste of almost grabbing the Big West Conference Tournament title still lingering in the mouth, the Cal Poly men’s tennis team is hungry for another chance at the trophy.
The Mustangs made school history last spring as they rounded out the year holding the Big West Conference title after an undefeated regular season. They went into the conference tournament with the top seed, only to lose in the finals to UC Santa Barbara.
“Last year we were right there with the Big West and then we got second,” Mustangs head coach Justin McGrath said. “Now it’s all up to us, and it’s definitely one of our goals to get the tournament title this year.”
So with a fresh start and some new faces behind the net, Cal Poly begins its spring season this weekend facing Westmont at home at 1 p.m. Saturday before heading to Fresno State on Sunday.
“We’re not the favored team on paper this weekend,” said junior Andrew Gerst from Redondo Beach, “but we’re looking at upsetting (Westmont and Fresno State). We’re really excited to get the season started; it feels like it’s been a long time since we’ve gone out there as a team.”
McGrath said there are yet to be any clear-cut No. 1 players, but he does know who he expects to see playing toward the season’s top spots.
Darryn Young, a junior originally from South Africa, earned Big West First Team honors as a sophomore No. 2 singles player, and looks promising again this year.
Sophomore Robert Foy played last year at the No. 5 slot as the team’s only freshman, after being hailed from New Zealand as one of the country’s top junior players there.
“As a whole, we did pretty well in our fall season, and I think we’re definitely a stronger team than last year,” Gerst said.
Nick Berger, a junior from Redondo Beach, played well for the past two years at Cal Poly, and also looks to be another promising returner.
“Our goals are to make it in the top 15 nationally, and to claim the Big West this year,” Foy said. “The spring season is very different from the fall, where we only play individual tournaments.
“For us to get where we want to be in the spring, we’re going to have to give it all we’ve got … we’ve got to be out there bleeding for the team.”
McGrath thinks the fall prepared his players well for the upcoming season.
“We played OK during the fall,” he said. “But it really gave the players a chance to bond. I expect we’ll do well this season, and I hope to see us take the Big West, so we’ll see where the cards fall.”
Along with Gerst, Robert Zacks, a junior from Oxnard, was added to the team this year, along with a promising lineup of accomplished freshmen, including Drew Jacobs from Moorpark, Nikita Shchepin from Walnut Creek, Blake Wardman from San Clemente and Alexander Sonesson from Sweden.
Also from Sweden is new addition Joel Aherberg, who boasts a record as a Swedish Juniors champion in doubles.
“I’ve got a young and talented team – the future is very bright,” McGrath said. “We’re looking to go out there and make some waves in college tennis this year.”