Provo, Utah-
As the doubles competitions got underway, the Tigers either found their niche right away, or struggled to find the groove. After having dropped the No. 2 and 3 position to BYU, Pacific's No. 1 partners Ivan Castro and Alex Golding picked up a win for the Tigers against Gregory Batrakov and Patrick Kawka 8-3. Though Pacific did not earn the doubles point, they were determined to gain momentum in the singles competitions.
In the singles matches, the Tigers came up short of success in four of the six competitions yielding the overall match victory to BYU 5-2. Pacific did have two impressive victories, freshman Ben Mirkin at the No. 3 spot defeated Spencer Smith in straight sets to gain a point for pacific 6-2, 6-3; and Alex Golding in the No. 4 position defeated Keaton Cullimore in an exceedingly close match resulting in two tiebreak sets 7-6(4), 7-6(3). Also, though Ivan Castro couldn't gain the victory in the No. 2 place, he had an epic battle that lasted three brutal sets resulting in a final score of 4-6, 6-0, 7-6(6).
After the match had concluded, Coach Redondo stated, "Tough loss today. All the matches were very competitive and the all important doubles match was well within reach but a couple undisciplined shots cost us."
The Tigers now prepare for the University of San Diego/San Diego State Invite which is scheduled to take place in San Diego, California on March 15-17th.
Match Results:
Doubles Competitions:
1. Ivan Castro/Alex Golding (Pacific) def. Gregory Batrakov/Patrick Kawka (BYU) 8-3
2. Spencer Smith/Francis Sargeant (BYU) def. Tomasz Krzyszkowski/Ben Mirkin (Pacific) 8-2
3. Keaton Cullimore/Michael Eraso (BYU) def. Alex Hamilton/Valentim Goncalves Jr. (Pacific)8-4
Singles Competitions:
1. Gregory Batrakov (BYU) def. Tomasz Krzyzkowski (Pacific) 6-3, 6-0
2. Patrick Kawka (BYU) def. Ivan Castro (Pacific) 4-6, 6-0, 7-6 (6)
3. Ben Mirkin (Pacific) def. Spencer Smith (BYU) 6-2, 6-3
4. Alex Golding (Pacific) def. Keaton Cullimore (BYU) 7-6 (4), 7-6 (3)
5. Francis Sargeant (BYU) def. Alex Hamilton (Pacific) 6-2, 6-1
6. Michael Eraso (BYU) def. Valentim Goncalves Jr. (Pacific) 6-4, 6-1
Final Score: Pacific 2, BYU 5
