MEN’S TENNIS FALLS TO ANOTHER RANKED OPPONENT, THIS TIME TO CAL POLY

4/10/2011

Senior Marko Starcevic won today and is now 9-2 over his last 11 singles matches

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- Cal Poly swept all three doubles matches, and won five of the six singles matches to defeat Sacramento State, 6-1, in a non-conference men’s tennis match Sunday afternoon at Mustang Courts.

Cal Poly, which is ranked 40th in the nation, improved to 13-3 with the victory. The Hornets (12-12) were playing their third ranked opponent on the road over a three-day stretch. Sacramento State lost all three matches by a 6-1 score, including a loss to 49th-ranked UC Irvine on Friday, and sixth-ranked Pepperdine on Saturday.

The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) ranks the top 75 teams in the nation and the Hornets are now 0-9 against nationally ranked teams and 12-3 against unranked opposition.

The lone winner in singles play for the Hornets was senior Marko Starcevic who defeated Alexander Sonesson at No. 2 by a 3-6, 6-4, 10-6 super tiebreaker score. Senior Kiryl Harbatsiuk, who played doubles with Starcevic, did not play the singles portion of the match while suffering from flu-like symptoms. Harbatsiuk is ranked 31st in the nation and has won 21 consecutive singles matches.

Cal Poly’s Andre Dome (6-2, 6-0 at No. 1), Jordan Bridge (6-1, 2-6, 6-2 at No. 3), Brian McPhee (6-1, 6-1 at No. 4), Marco Comuzzo (7-6, 6-2) and Sebastian Bell (6-1, 6-0 at No. 6) were each victorious in singles play.

The Hornets have one more tuneup (Monday, April 18 at Santa Clara) before playing in the Big Sky Conference Tournament (April 23-24) in Bozeman, Mont. Sacramento State went undefeated in conference play this year and will assume the No. 1 seed at the tournament.

#40 Cal Poly 6, Sacramento State 1

Singles competition
1. #103 Dome, Andre (CP) def. SMITH, Jason (SACMEN) 6-2, 6-0
2. STARCEVIC, Marko (SACMEN) def. Sonesson, Alexander (CP) 3-6, 6-4, 10-6
3. Bridge, Jordan (CP) def. MILLAN, Javier (SACMEN) 6-1, 2-6, 6-2
4. McPhee, Brian (CP) def. MALKO, Aliaksandr (SACMEN) 6-1, 6-1
5. Comuzzo, Marco (CP) def. LORENTZEN, Josh (SACMEN) 7-6, 6-2
6. Bell Sebastian (CP) def. EMERY, Blake (SACMEN) 6-1, 6-0

Doubles competition
1. #32 Dome, Andre/Sonesson, Alexander (CP) def. HARBATSIUK, Kiryl/STARCEVIC, Marko (SACMEN) 9-7
2. Comuzzo, Marco/Bridge, Jordan (CP) def. SMITH, Jason/MALKO, Aliaksandr (SACMEN) 9-8
3. McPhee, Brian/Jacobs, Drew (CP) def. LORENTZEN, Josh/MILLAN, Javier (SACMEN) 8-5

Match Notes:
Sacramento State 12-12
Cal Poly 13-3; National ranking #40