It was a brief visit to Tulsa, Okla., for Kallim Stewart and Eoin Heavey of the Cal men's tennis team.

What was supposed to be a weeklong trip to the 2008 D'Nova/ITA All-American Championship was cut short after losses for the two players in the first qualifying round and a withdrawal from the doubles qualifier due to an injury to Heavey's arm.

"Their opponents were quality players, but at the end of the day, I would be expecting Eoin and Kallim to win those matches," said coach Peter Wright. "They were both winnable."

On day one of the tournament, junior Stewart, ranked No. 64 nationally and seeded 17th in the tournament, fell to unranked Kean Feeder of Boise State, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.

Even with the noisy Tulsa airport in the background, the disappointment in Stewart's voice was unmistakable.

"It was a match I kind of wish I could do over again, just because it was one of those matches where you think you can win," Stewart said.

In the consolation round on the second day, Stewart was able to redeem himself by defeating Daniel Buikema of Alabama in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2.

"I played a lot better, but it was the consolation match so I was still thinking about the main draw," Stewart said. "It's important since it counts for rankings, but it's only one match."

Stewart's senior teammate Heavey fought through both of his matches while nursing a recurring elbow injury.

"I thought it was getting better, but it was just the fact that I was taking all these painkillers," said Heavey. "I stopped taking them a day or two before the tournament and the injury just came back straightaway."

Despite the injury, Heavey still feels he could have been victorious in his first match, which he lost 7-6(6), 6-3, to Oklahoma's Ionut Beleleu.

"My arm wasn't really bothering me, I just didn't perform well," said Heavey. "Even though I was playing pretty terribly, I probably still should've won anyway."

Heavey's consolation match against Jason Zafiros of Arizona seemed to be looking better--after losing the first set 6-0, he fought back in the second to win 7-5--but Heavey was forced to retire in the third set due to his injury.

"I was keeping up with the guy, and then my arm started giving me a bit of trouble," Heavey said.

The injury forced the duo to withdraw from the doubles match they were supposed to play against Miami's Ignacio Taboada and Keith Crowley.

"I think we might've been able to win a couple matches, but it's more important for Eoin to get healthy than it is for us to play doubles," said Stewart.

Wright feels that perhaps the less-than-desirable results at the tournament can be attributed to changes in facilities and bad timing.

"It wasn't a great day for either one of them (on Monday)," said Wright. "Going indoors, they had to play in different facilities. We almost wish they could've played those matches today instead of yesterday. Maybe it was a day early for them."

Next up for the Bears is the Wilson/ITA Regional Championship, which will be hosted in Berkeley. The Bears will host players from Northern California, Northern Nevada, Oregon and Washington for the five-day tournament October 17-21.

Tags: KALLIM STEWART, CAL MEN'S TENNIS, EOIN HEAVEY