Off to one of its best starts in program history, the Cal Poly men’s tennis team isn’t ready to pat themselves on the back yet.
With their eyes set on an NCAA appearance, and their season drawing to a close, the Mustangs are aiming for a flawless finish to bolster their 40th national ranking.
Sophomore Andre Dome, who earned a 14-2 record on the season in the No. 1 singles spot, said he isn’t looking at team records and stats, but is focused only on winning.
“Now that we’re in the rankings, we need to keep moving up,” Dome said. “In these last matches we just got to take into account that we have to fight even harder every single time.”
The Mustangs have improved to 13-3 on the season with their most recent win over Sacramento State and remain a perfect 3-0 in Big West play.
With bigger goals in mind, head coach Justin McGrath said the team is far from content with what they have accomplished so far.
“Obviously we’re happy, but we’re not satisfied by any stretch of the imagination,” McGrath said. “We’ve got a lot of big matches coming up. Every match has its own challenge, but we’re still going to approach each match the same.”
The Mustangs will have to prove themselves against a difficult schedule to close out the year with matches against Central Coast rivals UC Santa Barbara, No. 47 UC Irvine and No. 14 UCLA.
In two much-anticipated match-ups, former Arroyo Grande High School standout Dome, ranked 97th in the nation, will face UCLA freshman Daniel Kosakowski, ranked 35th in the nation, and UC Irvine junior Chris Kearney, ranked 40th in the nation.
These will not be Dome’s first matches against big names, having played two ranked opponents already this season and splitting the matches. Dome lost in straight sets to Washington’s 58th ranked Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan 6-4, 6-2, but Dome found success against then-ranked No. 74 Arthur Surreaux of New Mexico State.
Dome said the team is excited for the opportunity to face UCLA, an established program that has 16 national championships and 36 Pac-10 conference titles
“(UCLA) is one of the top teams in the nation every single year,” Dome said. “To be able to compete against them and see what we have against an elite team like that, will show how far we’ve come since the beginning of the season.”
But Cal Poly’s fiercest weapon this season has been the duo of Dome and sophomore Alexander Sonesson, who are ranked No. 41 in the nation with a 10-2 record.
The Mustangs have won eight of their last nine matches and they’ve done it without the comfort of home court. The Mustangs have had three rainouts at home, with only one home game since March 5.
With a difficult road schedule, Sonesson said the team has missed their home fans and the extra energy they bring to the games.
“Playing on the road has been really tough,” Sonneson said. “But to come home and have people in the stands screaming at every point you win, it’s an indescribable feeling. It pumps you up a lot more and makes it much easier to get through the battle.”
The team will first head south to Santa Barbara and Los Angeles on April 16 and April 20 before returning home April 23 for the last regular season game against UC Irvine.
“Every match is really important, just to keep our ranking,” Sonesson said. “Right now we’re on the verge of getting into the NCAA tournament. Every match to end this season is really important for us.”