Claremont, Calif. - Juniors Max Sabel (Sun Valley, Idaho) and Frankie Allinson (Waco, Texas - pictured) moved up to No. 1 doubles for the first time this season and won 8-6, then each captured singles matches to help the No. 12 Pomona-Pitzer Men's Tennis team defeat No. 5 UC Santa Cruz 5-4 on Saturday at Pauley Courts.

The win improves Pomona-Pitzer's record on the year to 9-8 against the team that knocked them out of the NCAA Division III Tournament last spring. UC Santa Cruz slips to 9-8 with the loss. 

The bad news for the day on the Sagehen side was sophomore Chris Wiechert (Eugene, Ore.) had his 13-match winning streak at No. 2 singles snapped by Erich Koenig. Wiechert struggled out of the gate in his third match in three days and was trailing 6-0, 3-0 at one point, but dug down and rallied back to level the second set. He fought off two match points down 5-4 to get it to a second set tiebreaker, but Koenig prevailed, taking a 4-2 lead at the changeover and then finishing off the tiebreaker with three straight points for a 7-2 win.

Wiechert's lass loss came on Feb. 24 against Michael Razumovsky of Kenyon, and he rattled off 13 straight wins since then, 12 of which came against nationally ranked teams (including a rematch with Razumovsky), before having the streak end on Saturday. However, he still contributed to the team win by getting a key doubles point in a close match, combining with Alex Groth (Devlan, Wis.) for a 9-7 win at No. 3 doubles. UC Santa Cruz was serving down 8-7 to try to force a tiebreaker, when Wiechert and Groth ripped winners off service returns back-to-back to get the win and give the Sagehens a 2-1 lead going into singles.

Pomona-Pitzer actually ended the drama of the team match pretty quickly, as Allinson prevailed at No. 5 with a 7-6 win in the first set (7-1 in the tiebreaker) and 6-2 in the second, while Sabel won 6-4, 6-4 at No. 3, and freshman Connor Hudson (Denver, Colo.) won 6-3, 6-4 at No. 4.

Those results were the first three to finish, giving the Sagehens a 5-1 lead, as Wiechert tried to battle back at No. 2 and senior Tommy Meyer (Bernville) was down a set, but ahead 5-2 in the second at No. 1 singles. Koenig held off Wiechert in the tiebreaker, and Devin Nerenberg rallied to capture five straight games for a 7-5, 7-5 win at No. 1 for the Banana Slugs to get them within 5-3. The No. 6 singles match, which started later than the 1-5 slots, also went to UC Santa Cruz as Bruce Bettwy earned a 6-1, 6-3 win over Sagehen freshman Kevin Wei (San Diego, Calif.).

Pomona-Pitzer will be back in action on Wednesday for a non-conference match against Gustavus Adolphus at 4 p.m.

#12 Pomona-Pitzer 5, #5 UC Santa Cruz 4

Doubles
1. Max Sabel/Frankie Allinson (PP) def. Ian Stanley/Erik Rosner 8-6
2. Erich Koenig/Parker Larsen (UCSC) def. Tommy Meyer/Uday Singh 8-6
3. Chris Wiechert/Alex Groth (PP) def. Devin Nerenberg/Max Littlejohn 9-7

Singles
1. Devin Nerenberg (UCSC) def. Tommy Meyer 7-5, 7-5
2. Erich Koenig (UCSC) def. Chris Wiechert 6-0, 7-6 (2)
3. Max Sabel (PP) def. Parker Larsen 6-4, 6-4
4. Connor Hudson (PP) def. Andre Halabi 6-3, 6-4
5. Frankie Allinson (PP) def. Erik Rosner 7-6 (1), 6-2
6. Bryce Bettwy (UCSC) def. Kevin Wei 6-1, 6-3