Anteaters Do Their Duty, Win Big West Tennis Title

OJAI —  Coach Greg Patton said it was UC Irvine’s “patriotic duty” to prevent Fresno State from winning the Big West Conference men’s championship this weekend at the Ojai Valley tennis tournament.

“Letting Fresno State win would be like letting a bunch of British guys take the Liberty Bell out of Philadelphia,” Patton said of the Bulldogs, who depart for the Western Athletic Conference next season.

There will be no victory bells clanging in Fresno. The Anteaters saw to that by winning the conference title, 49-42, Sunday.

Needing to win only one match on the final day of the three-day event, Irvine won three of six singles flight championships and two of three doubles titles to sweep to the men’s team championship.

Playing in 100-degree heat, Brett Hansen-Dent took the No. 1 flight with a 4-6, 7-6, 6-4 victory over UC Santa Barbara’s David Decret.

“I need to go get an IV in my arm,” Hansen-Dent said. “I think we both felt like we were going to pass out in the third set.”

Still, Hansen-Dent had enough left to combine with Marco Zuniga for a 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Decret and Laszlo Markovits in the No. 1 doubles championship match.

Brett Stern posted a victory at No. 2 singles, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, over Joe Gonzales of Pacific and Fred Bach won at No. 3 singles with a 2-6, 7-5, 6-3 decision over Fresno State’s Mike Noel. Aaron Stolpman and Chris Tontz won at No. 3 doubles with a 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 victory over Steve Jackson and Peter Klinovsky of Fresno State.

The Anteaters came up short in three other title matches. Klinovsky defeated Neel Grover, 6-1, 6-2, in the No. 5 flight and Jamie Weatherall became the first New Mexico State player to win a conference title with a 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-2) triumph over Stolpman in the sixth flight.

Bach and Grover came within two points of a victory for Irvine in No. 2 doubles, losing, 4-6, 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-5) to Gary Anderson and Noel of Fresno State.