Westmont Men’s Tennis (4-4, 3-0 GSAC) is on a three-game conference winning streak after defeating the OUAZ Spirit 6-1 in Surprise. The Warriors swept the Spirit in doubles, and surrendered only one singles match, ultimately cruising to their second win in Arizona.
“We’re really happy about being able to get both wins on this trip,” said Westmont head coach Mark Basham. “I’m really happy with the guys today. They had great energy, great focus, and really took care of business.”
Cody Ray Emery and Santiago Tintore Ramon got the Warriors started in doubles with a 6-1 win on two, which was soon-after followed by a 6-2 win on one by Ethan Ha and Logan Thompson.
In singles the Spirit had only five players competing in the match, giving Benny Saito a forfeited win on six to start. Preston Hastings was the first Warrior to complete a match during singles, with Hastings defeating Saul Bautista 6-0, 6-2 on five.
With the official match clincher, Ha defeated Noah Koeroessy 7-5, 6-2 on three. Following the clincher the two sides continued competition, with Thompson and Owen Vander Ark also coming away with wins on one and four.
“Ethan came back really strong in his singles match,” reflected Basham. “He was down 5-2 in the first set, and it was awesome to see him fight back and win it 7-5. He clinched it for us again, just like he did during the deciding match last night.
“I’m really proud of Preston for winning both his matches yesterday and today. Owen won a super-tiebreaker today, and Logan won a tiebreaker as well in the second set.
“Overall, I’m really happy with the fight and energy we had all day, and I’m excited about our tough match with Westcliff a week from today.”
The Warriors will go for their fourth GSAC win in a row on Saturday, March 4, when they host Westcliff in Santa Barbara.
Jacob Norling is the sports information assistant at Westmont College.
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