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© Westmont College 2002
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Warriors show improvement in 2002

Westmont ended with a final men's tennis record of 8-13 in 2002, but that mark fails to indicate the improvement from Coach Chris Elwood's squad. A year ago the Warriors had a winning percentage of just .268 in singles and .310 in doubles. Those marks jumped this season to .383 in singles and .484 in double.

Besides playing three NAIA ranked teams in the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC), the Warriors faced three NCAA Division I opponents, plus nationally-ranked foes from both the NCAA Division II and III ranks.

In addition to the tough schedule, Westmont also had to alter its lineup after senior Mike Lastoria went down with an injury very early in the season. Lastoria was penciled in at the No. 3 singles positions and at the No. 1 doubles spot.

The Warriors started out just 1-5 in dual matches, but won four straight contests midway through the season to even their record at 5-5. After dropping the next three matches, including a pair by just one point, Westmont claimed three consecutive wins. Perhaps the biggest win of the season was against nationally-ranked Vanguard, when the Warriors knocked off their conference foe 5-4. Other key victories included a season sweep of two matches with California Lutheran and a 5-4 win over NCAA Division II Cal State Los Angeles.

A pair of seniors held down the top two singles positions. Collin Magliolo posted a 9-8 record playing at No. 1 and was 9-10 overall. In his last regular season match, Magliolo held off the top player from UC Santa Barbara in a three-set thriller. The No. 2 position was filled by senior Shea Mercado. He went 8-11 in singles play and teamed with freshman Matthew Oxendale to produce an 11-8 record at No. 1 doubles.

Bryn Mercado, a freshman and brother of Shea, filled the No. 3 singles spot and joined Magliolo to go 11-7 at No. 2 doubles. Oxendale played primarily at No. 4 singles, while sophomore David Gilbert played at No. 5 and junior Jim Copus competed at the No. 6 position. Gilbert and senior Erik Van Slooten teamed up at No. 3 doubles.




Westmont bows out in regional semifinals

(May 1, 2002) - The 2002 season came to a closee for the Warriors as they fell 5-0 to nationally-ranked Azusa Pacific in the NAIA Region II semifinals. The Cougars swept the three doubles matches to take a commanding lead, the claimed wins at the No. 2 and No. 4 doubles positions to close out the match. Westmont ends the season with a dual match record of 8-13.