April 18, 2009
Indian Wells, Calif. - Despite three singles victories the No. 52 ranked Pacific men's tennis team fell to the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos, 4-3, on Saturday, April 18 in the 2009 Big West Conference Championship semi-finals.
The Tigers' were the No. 1 seed going into the tournament with a 2009 season record of 12-7, 4-1 in conference play with UC Santa Barbara being Pacific's only conference loss on March, 28.
The Gauchos' were the No. 4 seed going into the tournament with a 2009 season record of 10-12 and 3-2 in conference play. UCSB defeated UC Davis on Friday, April, 17 to advance to the match against the Tigers and will face UC Irvine in the Big West Championship finals on Sunday, April, 19.
The Gauchos started the day strong by taking the doubles point, 2-0 (dnf), with a win in the No. 2 slot followed by a win in the No. 1 slot. Following UCSB capturing the doubles point, the No. 3 position doubles match with Pacific freshman Christian Kuehne (Morbach, Germany) and freshmen Ryan Kim (Elk Grove, Calif.) battling UCSB's Nick Caledonia and Taylor Chavez Goggin did not finish.
In singles action, four-time 2009 Big West Player of the Week senior Moritz Starke (Bamberg, Germany) played his last match for the Tigers against UCSB's Alex Konigsfeldt in the No. 1 singles position and dropped the match, 6-7 (6), 6-3, 1-0 (ret.).
Pacific saw three victories in Saturday's upset in the No. 2, 5, & 6 position matches. Pacific sophomore Artem Gramma (Krivoj Roj, Ukraine) earned a No. 2 slot victory against UCSB's Josh Finkelstein in only two sets, 7-5, 6-4. Tiger freshmen Karl-Erik Paaro (Tallinn, Estonia) had a strong win versus the Gauchos' Taylor Chavez Goggin easily conquering two sets, 6-3, 6-2.
The Tigers conclude the 2009 season with a record of 12-7 and a season high No. 52 in the ITA Rankings, its highest since earning a No. 34 ranking on March 22, 2000.
Men's Tennis Results
UC Santa Barbara 4, Pacific 3
Indian Wells Tennis Garden (Indian Wells, Calif.)
Doubles (UCSB wins point)
1. Josh Finkelstein / Alex Konigsfeldt (UCSB) def. Moritz Starke / Renan Delsin (PAC), 8-3
2. Scott Hohenstein / Evan Jurgensen (UCSB) def. Artem Gramma / Karl-Erik Paaro (PAC), 8-6
3. Ryan Kim / Christian Kuehne (PAC) vs. Nick Caledonia / Taylor Chavez Goggin (UCSB), DNF
Order of Finish: 2, 1
Singles
1. Alex Konigsfeldt (UCSB) def. Moritz Starke (PAC), 6-7 (6), 6-3, 1-0 (ret.)
2. Artem Gramma (PAC) def. Josh Finkelstein (UCSB), 7-5, 6-4
3. Scott Hohenstein (UCSB) def. Renan Delsin (PAC), 5-7, 6-4, 6-2
4. Max Taylor (UCSB) def. Vegerd Veskimagi (PAC), 5-7, 7-5, 6-0
5. Karl-Erik Paaro (PAC) def. Taylor Chavez Goggin (UCSB), 6-3, 6-2
6. Christian Kuehne (PAC) def. Mathieu Forget (UCSB), 6-4, 6-4
Order of Finish: 6, 5, 2, 1, 4, 3
