California Baptist University
Concordia
SPOILER ALERT
4/30/2009 6:00:00 PM | Men's Track
RIVERSIDE, Calif. --- With its first GSAC title since the early 1990s in its clutches, the NAIA's No. 2-ranked California Baptist University let it slip away in a flash with a 5-4 loss to No. 5 Concordia on the season's final day Thursday.
The loss is the Lancers' first since Feb. 14, snapping their 16-match winning streak. They fall to 17-2 overall, 14-2 GSAC, finishing second. The Eagles improve to 16-5, 12-4. Both teams will earn an at-large berth to the 2009 NAIA Men's Tennis National Championships May 12-16 in Mobile, Ala.
The formula was simple?a win over a team that they had beaten 8-1 earlier in the season, and the Lancers have a share of their first GSAC title since 1992. It was not to be, however, as the Eagles put the Lancers into a 3-0 hole after doubles and then held off a Lancer charge in singles for the win.
“We dug ourselves a hole in doubles, and quite honestly I was confounded at how we could come out in a match of this magnitude and give that kind of effort,” said CBU Head Coach Chris Taylor. “They gave a great effort in singles, but when you go down like that in doubles the hole is just too deep to get out of.”
Buried in a 3-0 hole, the Lancers were forced to win five of six singles' matches to win the match. They nearly pulled off the feat, coming up just short. Martin Vaisse made quick work of Kareem Berdai with a 6-0, 6-1 win at No. 3 to put the Lancers on the board. All-American Alessandro Ventre then defeated Augusto Elias 6-3, 6-1 at No. 1, and Gabor Toth tied the match with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Bruno Santarelli at No. 6.
Lucas Pereira was nearly forced to a third set by Oliver Fabre at No. 4 when he fell behind 4-1 in the second set. However, Pereira battled back and won six of the next seven games to complete a 6-2, 7-5 win to give the Lancers a 4-3 lead, their first of the day.
Tom Young then defeated Oliver Andrzjczuk, 7-5, 6-4, at No. 5 to even the match back up at 4-4.
Concordia's No. 1 player Andrey Potapkin, who had played 16 of his previous 17 matches in the top spot in the lineup, was dropped down to No. 2 singles and was engulfed in a back-and-forth battle with All-American Carlos Cirne-Lima. Cirne-Lima won the first set, 6-3, but Potapkin came back to even the match with a 7-6 win in the second set. Cirne-Lima then shrugged off three match points, but Potapkin finally closed the deal with a 6-4 win in the third set to clinch the match.
