Box Score By Jacob Norling
February 12, 2022
 
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) Westmont Men's Tennis got their season underway on Saturday against NCAA Div. III Caltech. Unfortunately for the Warriors, they fell to the Beavers by a score of 4-3.
 
"Overall, I was very pleased with our team's focus, energy and enthusiasm," said Westmont head coach Mark Basham.
 
In doubles play, Caltech's Kyle McCandless and Daniel Wen fell to Westmont's Ethan Ha and Logan Thompson 7-6 (5) on court one to open the day. Then, the Beavers bounced back to steal the doubles point.
 
On court two and three, the Beavers prevailed with 6-3 wins over the Warriors. On the second court, Ishaan Kannan and Jake Will bested Owen Vander Ark and Joseph Hemry, and on court three, John Kim and Rishi Gundakaram defeated Preston Hastings and Santiago Tintore Ramon.
 
"I thought we could have capitalized better in doubles on courts two and three," noted Basham, "but this was Joseph and Owen's first match together."
 
The doubles point proved to be the difference in the match, as the clubs proceeded to split the six singles matches. Westmont prevailed on courts one, three, and five, while Caltech took the even-numbered courts to seal the victory.
 
On court one, Thompson got the better of Kannan after dropping the first set 6-2. The All-GSAC athlete responded with a 6-2 and 6-4 win to claim the match.
 
Vander Ark collected a point for the Warriors on court three when he beat Victor Li 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, and on court five, Benny Saito defeated Matthew Gonzalgo 1-6, 7-5, 6-4.
 
On court two, Caltech's McCandless defeated Ha 7-5, 6-3 and on court four, Will defeated Tristan Wright by a score of 7-6 (4), 7-6 (0).
 
Vander Ark collected a point for the Warriors on court three when he beat Victor Li 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, and on court five, Benny Saito defeated Matthew Gonzalgo 1-6, 7-5, 6-4.
 
On court six, Daniel Wen defeated Tintore Ramon 6-3, 5-7, 6-3.
 
"Singles went quite well," began Basham. "We hung tough, coming back on both court one and court five, posting good victories. Those were good wins for Logan, Owen, and Benny. Tristan definitely could have won his match if he could have finished out the first set."
 
On Friday, February 18, Westmont returns to action when they head down to Claremont to take on Pomona-Pitzer. The match is scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m.