STOCKTON, Calif. - The Pacific men's tennis team prevailed on their home court as they play host to the ITA Northwest Regionals from Thursday October 19 through Monday, October 23 at the Eve Zimmerman Tennis Center. Ross Watson, Bernardo Oliveira and Akram El Sallaly will move on to the round of 32 after winning their first two matches on Thursday.
Chris Cajigan earned his first win as a Tiger Thursday morning. Cajigan had the first match of the day facing Victor Pereira of Eastern Washington as the Tiger took the first set from the Eagle with ease, 6-1. The second set was an intense back-and-forth match as Cajigan was ahead in his match but then fell behind. He was down 3-2 as the advantage continued to seesaw until Pereira began to threaten with his 6-5 lead. Cajigan refused to give up and battled to win the next set tying the score 6-6 to force a tie-break. The Guam native buckled down and took control of the last set and defeated the Eagle 7-6(3) to move on to the round of 64.
"I couldn't have had my first win without the help of my teammates because they are very supportive and we all push each other to do the best we can every day," said Cajigan. "It feels good to put in the work and go out there and win."
In his second match, Cajigan faced a tough Mathieu Garcia of Portland, a fellow West Coast Conference rival, where he dropped out of the main draw losing his match 6-0, 6-3.
"With Chris, I am really impressed with the way in which he won as well. His composure was very professional and I thought he was very honest out there with what he had to offer and he really maximized his opportunity," stated head coach Ryan Redondo.
Watson flashed his skills on the court in both of his matches as he moves onto the round of 32 after showing his grit this afternoon. In his first match, he defeated Piers Foley of Washington in straight sets, 7-6(4), 6-3, which then led him into the round of 64 where he faced off against Portland's Pierre Garcia. It was a marathon match that Watson wasn't willing to give up after dropping the first set 6-7(6). He battled back in the second taking it 7-6(6), bringing the match to a deciding third set, where he prevailed to quickly take it 6-3 to continue through the main draw.
Oliveira, coming off an impressive run in the $100,000 Fairfield ATP Challenger finishing second in doubles with El Sallaly, fought tough in his match against Chethan Swanson of UC Davis for his first match of the tournament as he swiftly won 7-6(4), 6-4. In his second match, Oliveira faced off against the Stanford Cardinal, Kento Perera and rolled over his opponent, 6-4, 6-3 as Oliveira moves on to compete in the round of 32 on Friday.
Picking up another pair of wins for the Tigers was El Sallaly as he had a quick afternoon. His first match had him do battle with Jackson Hawk from St. Mary's, another WCC foe. He defeated the Gael, 6-0, 6-1 before matching up with Sacramento State's Christopher Clayton in the round of 64. The Tiger trounced on the Hornet in straight sets, 7-5, 6-0 to be the third Tiger to represent Pacific in the round of 32.
"I think we really set a tone in our composure and the things we have been practicing and looking for in our guys, they just responded really well for the most part, and I am really happy with that," said Redondo. "Ross really came back from match points and that is a testament to his grit and his willpower and that's going to serve him really well moving forward so a lot of experiences today were really positive that we can continue to build on for tomorrow and for the future."
Newcomer Simon Solbas, played his first match as a Tiger on his home court facing off against Gonzaga Bulldog, Vince Rettke. Solbas showed tremendous effort and enthusiasm, but fell to the Bulldog, 6-4, 6-0, while Daniel Orlita took a loss in his first match when he fell to Portland's Tom Hand in a three-set battle, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.
Nathan Hampton drew a tough opponent in the opening round dueling with the 14-seed Timothy Sah from Stanford. Hampton dropped his match to the Cardinal, 6-3, 6-1 to move into the consolation round.
"Nathan came up against a very good Stanford player and I told Nathan after his match that I was very impressed with his composure. There was just about 5 minutes where he kind of let it go and if he didn't I think he could have had that match won, but a lot of good tennis from these guys and I'm really happy," Redondo expressed.
This is the first time in Pacific's history that the Tigers are hosting the ITA Northwest Regionals, a five day, 17-team tournament featuring both doubles and singles.
"I think a lot of the compliments I have been getting from coaches and players as far as the tournament and the facility is that it is so spread out and you can see all the matches," added Redondo. "The fact that there is a market place and they can just stay here and get food is awesome so that has been super positive."
It was a long day of tennis for Pacific and it continues Friday morning at 8 a.m. beginning with doubles.
All tournament information can be found on the home page of the Pacific men's tennis page.
