Resilient Lopes overcome again, improve to 11-4

Wednesday, March 26

Phoenix, Ariz.

4 p.m.

Grand Canyon

Cal Poly

Photo by: Nate Cochran

3/26/2025 8:03:00 PM | Men's Tennis, Paul Coro

Box Score Photo Gallery

Injury-riddled GCU records program's 1st-ever win against Cal Poly

By: Paul Coro

It could feel like Grand Canyon men's tennis starts each match down three with an injured trio of top players walking the GCU Tennis Facility corridor during matches.

So when the Lopes face in-match adversity, they already know how much they can endure.

GCU shook off situation after situation and watched a pair of freshmen close out a 4-1 home win against Cal Poly on Wednesday, making the program's first-ever win against the Mustangs after winning only two points in four losses to Cal Poly since 2020.

"I was just so proud of when things weren't going that great, our guys just responded really well," GCU head coach Derek Siddiqui said. "We just talked about that leading up to this match: that's what adversity is. That's what life's about. You're going to face adversity. How are you going to deal with it? You're not going to be perfect. You only have one option if you want to overcome it."

Macababbad and Patoux

GCU (11-4) had climbed into ITA national rankings as high as No. 61 before the injuries piled up to knock them out this month. Nevertheless, the Lopes have only suffered one loss over the past month, and that 4-3 defeat came on a third-set tiebreaker.

The Lopes were headed for a 1-0 hole in Wednesday's match when they lost on Court 3 in doubles and trailed 4-1 in the deciding Court 1 match. But sophomore Brice Patoux and senior Jonathan Da Silva rallied to win five straight games and push Lopes momentum into singles with a 1-0 dual lead.

"It's pretty tough to come back from 4-1, so credit to those guys," Siddiqui said. "That was a huge, huge point."

Cal Poly evened the match with a straight-set win on Court 2 before the spirit in the northeast corner of GCU Tennis Facility was building three wins to put away the Mustangs.

Da Silva, who is from France, turned around his Court 4 match after losing a 6-2 first set and dominated Sean Kamyshev in a pair of 6-2 set wins.

"The way the match was going, even though he lost the first somewhat handily, we still kind of felt like we were in it," Siddiqui said. "It was kind of weird. It was like we knew we were right there, and then Johnny just upped his level and started playing a little more brave. Once he started letting it go, it was kind of a little too much for the other guy."

Da Silva's energy rubbed off on freshman Diordan Macababbad next door on Court 6, senior Paolo Rosati across on Court 3 and freshman Finbar McGarvey nearby on Court 5.

Although a straight-set win, McGarvey closed his 6-4, 6-4 victory and fell to the purple court in celebration for giving GCU a 3-1 dual lead.

"Seeing them being positive definitely helped me get over the finish line, especially when I was down in the second set," said McGarvey, who is from England. "Without them, I definitely wouldn't have won the match.

"I remember (GCU assistant) coach Nic (Wiedenhorn) told me just to be brave and loose and trust my shots, and that's exactly what I did. I was definitely playing a bit defensive at the start of the second set and then suddenly I played more aggressive and got over the line."

In need of one more win to close out Cal Poly, Macababbad held a 5-2, third-set lead but it tightened to 5-4. Meanwhile, Rosati was surging to a 3-0, third-set lead on Court 3, and sophomore Nikita Volonski's Court 1 grinder had him leading 7-6, 5-4.

As injured players Andreas Loiazas, Matteo Lugari and David Wekesa are limited to volleying support, Macababbad gave GCU consecutive freshman wins with his 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 win on Court 6 just as Volonski was three points away from cinching Court 1.

"I told them (the freshmen) from the beginning of the year that anything can happen," Siddiqui said. "Look what happens. They've proven to be able to step up and enjoy the enjoy the competition, so they're gaining valuable experience. I hope they're enjoying it because that's only going to get tougher from here."

GCU lost 4-1 to Cal Poly last year with Wekesa getting the only win and 7-0 the prior year. Beating the Mustangs was their 11th win, their most in a season since 2019 with three regular-season duals remaining. The Lopes' Senior Day will be at 1 p.m. Friday against Seattle U at GCU Tennis Facility.

"It's not been an easy season, but we're still fighting," McGarvey said. "We're still here, and we're just step by step getting better."