Apr. 25, 2004
INDIAN WELLS, Calif. - The Pacific men's tennis team lost the Big West Tournament championship match in 2002 and 2003 to UC Santa Barbara. The Tigers did not allow that to happen a third consecutive time, however, as the Tigers upended the Gauchos, 4-1, in the championship match of the 2004 Big West Men's Tennis Championships at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden on Sunday, Apr. 25th.
With the victory, the Tigers earned the Big West's automatic bid to the NCAA Championships and improved to 15-9 on the season. The Gauchos fell to 13-8. The first and second rounds of the NCAA Championships will be played at host campus sites on May 14-15 or May 15-16.
The Tigers were victorious at the No. 2 and No. 3 doubles spots to earn the doubles point. Pacific's No. 2 doubles team of senior Michael Duong (Sunnyvale, Calif.) and freshman Vladimir Zdravkovic (Pancevo, Yugoslavia) downed UCSB's Nicholas Brotman and Elad Stern, 8-4. Then the Tigers' No. 3 team of sophomores Arnar Sigurdsson (Kopavogur, Iceland) and Tyler Black (Kahalu'u, Hawai'i) cruised to an 8-1 victory over the Gauchos' Matthew Coin and Nick Edlefsen.
The singles matches were closely contested, with the Tigers winning at the No. 2, No. 3, and No. 5 slots. Sigurdsson was a 6-4, 6-4 winner over Brotman at No. 2 singles. Duong won by the same score over UCSB's Mike Placek at the No. 3 position. At the No. 5 slot, Pacific junior Niclas Otte (Hannover, Germany) posted a 6-0, 7-5 victory over Coin. The Gauchos claimed a point at No. 6 singles, when Edlefsen beat Black, 6-2, 7-6 (5).
This is Pacific's second Big West Conference championship and third appearance in NCAA postseason competition. The Tigers also captured the Big West Conference crown in 2001. Pacific and UC Santa Barbara have combined to win the last four Big West championships.
Pacific 4, UC Santa Barbara 1
April 25, 2004
Indian Wells Tennis Garden - Indian Wells, Calif.
Doubles
1. Maack/Otte (PAC) vs. Anselme/Placek (UCSB) - DNF
2. Duong /Zdravkovic (PAC) def. Brotman/Stern (UCSB) - 8-4
3. Sigurdsson /Tyler Black (PAC) def. Coin/Edlefsen (UCSB) - 8-1
Singles
1. Lennart Maack (PAC) vs. Alex Anselme (UCSB) - DNF
2. Arnar Sigurdsson (PAC) def. Nicholas Brotman (UCSB) - 6-4, 6-4
3. Michael Duong (PAC) def. Mike Placek (UCSB) - 6-4, 6-4
4. Vladimir Zdravkovic (PAC) vs. Elad Stern (UCSB) -DNF
5. Niclas Otte (PAC) def. Matthew Coin (UCSB) - 6-2, 7-5
6. Nick Edlefsen (UCSB) def. Tyler Black (PAC) - 6-2, 7-6 (5)
