Lauren RabainoCal Poly’s two top seeds at the Pac-10 Conference Championships won their opening-round matches Sunday in front of 1,436 at Oregon’s McArthur Court.
Mustangs senior Chad Mendes, No. 1 at 141 pounds, claimed a major decision over Cody Moulton of Oregon, 15-4, moving on to the championship semifinals, where he would defeat Boise State’s Levi Jones 16-4.
Cal Poly sophomore Chase Pami, meanwhile, No. 11 at 157, pinned Boise State’s Trevor Hall in four minutes and 35 seconds. In the semifinals, Pami earned an 8-1 decision over Oregon’s Kyle Bounds.
The two-day tournament will resume at 3 p.m. today, with the championship-and- third-place matches starting at 7 p.m.
Thirty-nine Pac-10 grapplers will advance to the national championships, held in St. Louis from March 20-22. The top three wrestlers in each weight class will be granted automatic bids, with nine wildcards chosen.
Despite Jacobs’ first loss, men’s tennis team gets by UC Santa Barbara
The Cal Poly men’s tennis team defeated UC Santa Barbara 5-2 at Mustang Courts Sunday.
In doubles play, Cal Poly’s Robert Foy and Darryn Young edged Philip Therp and Jack Hui 9-7, and Blake Wardman and Drew Jacobs defeated Bijan Hejazi and Nigel Barton 8-4.
In singles, Andrew Gerst topped Hejazi 1-6, 6-4, 6-3, Young swept Therp 7-6, 6-3 and Alexander Sonesson narrowly defeated Eric Lee 7-5, 4-6, 6-1.
For the first time this dual season, Jacobs (8-1) lost, falling 6-3, 6-0 to Hui.
Cal Poly (6-3) plays at Montana State at noon Thursday.