University of San Francisco Athletics

SAN FRANCISCO – The San Francisco men's tennis team closed out its home slate in come-from-behind fashion Monday afternoon, besting Cal Poly 4-3 at The Olympic Club.

With the victory, USF stands at 10-12 on the year, and finishes with a 4-5 home record. The Mustangs fall to 7-11 and are in the midst of a three-match slide after the defeat at the hands of the Dons. USF is now 10-6 in non-conference action.

"As a staff we are so proud of the guys to come from behind today and win," head coach Pablo Pires de Almeida said. "Guys fought together and stayed positive with their backs against the wall. This gives us a lot of confidence going into conference matches on the road."

Despite a solid win for top pair Bernardo Saraiva and Nils Skajaa, USF fell behind early in the match, dropping the doubles point to Cal Poly. The Dons found themselves in a 2-0 hole after Cal Poly's Matt Thompson picked up a straight-set win at No. 5 singles to widen the gap.

The Dons rallied back with wins from Saraiva and Skajaa in their singles matches to knot the score. Saraiva, a junior from Lisbon, Portugal, picked up his team-leading 15th win. For Skajaa, a sophomore from Odder, Denmark, the win was his sixth in the spring from the No. 2 position.

The Dons picked up its third point of the match off the gutty play from Timothy Tan. The freshman from San Jose, Calif., found himself in an early hole after falling 6-2 to Naveen Beasley in the first set. He rebounded with a 6-1 win in the second to force a decisive third set. After faltering early in the frame, Tan regrouped to take the set 6-3 and give USF its first lead of the day.

James Tallman, a redshirt junior from Del Paso Heights, Calif., downed Jurgen De Jager, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(7), as the Dons sealed the victory.

"Tim fought so hard with disciplined fearless tennis to overcome being down 2-0 in the third," Pires de Almeida noted, "and with his win, we just needed one more, and James clinched it for us."

The Dons now embark of a five-match road trip to close the regular season. First, USF faces off with Gonzaga Friday in Spokane, Wash.
 

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San Francisco 4, Cal Poly 3
April 7 | The Olympic Club | San Francisco
 
Singles | Order of finish: 5, 1, 2, 6, 3*, 4
No. 1 – Bernardo Saraiva (USF) def. Marco Comuzzo (CP); 6-3, 6-4
No. 2 – Nils Skajaa (USF) def. Ben Donovan (CP); 7-6(5), 6-4
No. 3 – James Tallman (USF) def. Jurgen De Jager (CP); 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(7)
No. 4 – Corey Pang (CP) def. Thomas Takemoto (USF); 2-6, 7-6(6), 6-3
No. 5 – Matt Thompson (CP) def. Germain Bahri (USF); 6-2, 6-3
No. 6 – Timothy Tan (USF) def. Naveen Beasley (CP); 2-6, 6-1, 6-3
 
Doubles | Order of finish: unknown
No. 1 – Bernardo Saraiva/Nils Skajaa (USF) def. Marco Comuzzo/Matt Thompson (CP); 8-4
No. 2 – Devin Barber/Corey Pang (CP) def. Christian Brockstedt/Timothy Tan (USF); 8-4
No. 3 – Jurgen De Jager/Ben Donovan (CP) def. Germain Bahri/Thomas Takemoto (USF); 8-3