April 25, 2013

Box Score

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. - The No. 6 seed UC Davis men's tennis team claimed the doubles point but No. 3 seed Pacific stormed back in singles play and the Aggies lost, 4-2, to the Tigers in the first round of the Big West Tournament at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

The Aggies end head coach Eric Steidlmayer's first season with an 8-13 overall record after finishing league play 1-5. The Tigers will meet No. 2 seed Cal Poly in the semifinals at 3 p.m. on Friday. No. 5 seed Santa Barbara defeated No. 4 Hawai'i, 4-2, in the other first round match and will play No. 1 UC Irvine in the semifinals.

UC Davis had an early lead on the Tigers as the Aggies won two tiebreakers in the doubles. Brett Bacharach and Parker Kelley notched a 9-8 (2) win at No. 3 over Daniel Alameh and Erik Cederwall to offset Pacific's win at No. 2. That left the point in the hands of Toki Sherbakov and Adam Levie, who squeezed out a 9-8 (6) victory at No. 1 over Pacific's Sem Verbeek and Denis Stolyarov.

Singles play featured several close battles, including a pair of three-set matches. The Tigers took a 2-1 lead after posting a pair of straight set wins at No. 2 and No. 6, as Alex Golding defeated Kyle Miller 6-4, 6-1 and Ben Mirkin dispatched Hugo Verdi-Fortin 7-6(5), 6-1.

UC Davis quickly responded at No. 6 with George Horowitz claiming a 6-3, 6-4 victory against Cederwall.

With the match even at 2-2, the Tigers came up with a couple of clutch victories to earn the win. Stolyarov recovered from a first set defeat to beat Kelley, 2-6, 6-4 at No. 3 to put Pacific up 3-2.

Alameh then outlasted Bacharach 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 at No. 4 to clinch the match.

Overall in 2013, Miller posted the Aggies' best record, going 14-7 at No. 1 and No. 2 singles. Miller and Kelley each went a team-best 4-2 in Big West matches. Sherbakov and Levie posted the squad's best doubles mark, going 11-9 at No. 1.

Tennis Match Results
#6 UC Davis vs #3 Pacific
Apr 25, 2013 at Indian Wells, Calif.
(Indian Wells Tennis Garden)

#3 Pacific 4, #6 UC Davis 2

Singles competition
1. Sem Verbeek (PAC) vs. Toki Sherbakov (UCD) unfinished
2. Alex Golding (PAC) def. Kyle Miller (UCD) 6-4, 6-1
3. Denis Stolyarov (PAC) def. Parker Kelley (UCD) 2-6, 6-4, 6-1
4. Daniel Alameh (PAC) def. Brett Bacharach (UCD) 6-3, 2-6, 6-2
5. Ben Mirkin (PAC) def. Hugo Verdi-Fortin (UCD) 7-6, 6-1
6. George Horowitz (UCD) def. Erik Cederwall (PAC) 6-3, 6-4

Doubles competition
1. Toki Sherbakov/Adam Levie (UCD) def. Sem Verbeek/Denis Stolyarov (PAC) 9-8
2. Alex Golding/Alex Hamilton (PAC) def. Kyle Miller/Adam Luba (UCD) 8-4
3. Brett Bacharach/Parker Kelley (UCD) def. Daniel Alameh/Erik Cederwall (PAC) 9-8

Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (2,5,6,3,4)
First Round of Big West Tournament 2013