Westmont men’s tennis collects first victory of 2023

By JACOB NORLING WESTMONT SPORTS WRITER

Westmont Men’s Tennis (1-3) picked up their first win of the season on Wednesday afternoon, when they defeated the Cal Lutheran Kingsmen by a score of 7-2. Playing by NCAA Div. III rules, each doubles court counted for a match point, as opposed to NAIA rules which awards the winners of two out of three.

In Thousand Oaks today, the Warriors took two out of three in doubles, before dominating in singles for the match win.

Cody Ray Emery and Santiago Tintore Ramon got the Warriors started off on the right foot with an 8-4 four win at number two doubles, a feat that repeated immediately on court one. On one, Logan Thomspson and Ethan Ha defeated Parker McBride and Aaron Moylan, putting Westmont up 2-0.

“Doubles was quite good,” said Westmont head coach Mark Basham. “We had two new teams today, putting Cody Ray with Santi at number two, and then Owen and Benny at number three. We wanted to switch things up and we liked the way it looked, especially on two today. Cody Ray and Santi looked pretty dominant, and Owen and Benny played well, too.”

The Kingsmen stole the last match of doubles to get on the board, but the Warriors allowed no further momentum to build in singles. Westmont’s three match-clinchers in singles came on five, one, and four, where Preston Hastings, Thompson, and Owen Vander Ark put the match on ice. Vander Ark defeated Cade Haffner 6-4, 7-6 (7), Thompson defeated Darvel Lossangoye 6-3, 6-4, and Hastings defeated Shawn Rothermel 6-3, 6-3.

The Warriors continued to play after clinching, and also saw Emery and Ha collect wins on two and three. “Singles were pretty dominant today,” said Basham. “Logan took care of business, winning in straight sets. Ethan and Owen won in straight sets as well, along with Preston. I was really proud of Cody Ray. He played a dangerous, aggressive player, lost the first set, and then won pretty decisively in the second and the third.

“It was great for us to get some confidence and get this nice team win heading into a tough match as we open our GSAC schedule.”

The Warriors return to action on Saturday at 1:00 p.m., when they host Saint Katherine at Westmont. Jacob Norling is the sports information assistant at Westmont College. email: sports@newspress.com