Irvine – UCSB lost in a close dual match against UC Irvine on Sunday. Though the Gauchos seemed to have a solid lead early on, Irvine fought back and won the match 4-3. UCSB is now 3-4 for the season and 1-1 in Big West Conference play.
“We were up at the service break in No. 1, 2, and 3 Doubles. It looked like we were going to win them all, but Irvine came back and beat us in two of the three matches,” said coach Marty Davis.
Alex Konigsfeldt and Taylor Chavez Goggin tallied the only doubles win against Irvine’s Kuhnpol Issara and Sam Gould 8-4. UCSB’s Lucas Sudow and Benjamin Recknagel as well as partners Scott Hohenstein and Evan Jurgensen lost their doubles matches 8-6, both teams falling to a record of 4-3.
In singles, the Gauchos won the first set in five of the six matches. In two of the matches, however, Irvine came back from behind for the win. In No. 1 Singles, UCI’s Sam Gould defeated Alex Konigsfeldt in three sets, 1-6, 7-5, (6-3). In the No. 4 spot, Zac Tsai rallied to beat UCSB’s Taylor Chavez Goggin, also in three sets, 1-6, 6-3, (6-2).
“They came back from the dead on courts one and four,” said Davis. “They totally turned things around in Goggin’s match and Alex was up 4-1 in the second set and just couldn’t get over the hump for the win.”
The Gauchos found their three singles victories in the No. 3, 5, and 6 spots. Scott Hohensteindefeated Shimpei Suzuki in two sets, 6-1, 6-2. In No. 5 Singles, Lucas Sudow defended his undefeated record by beating Steven Henderson 6-3, 6-2, advancing to 6-0 for the season. Benjamin Recknagel overcame Stephen Stege in No. 6 Singles, 6-4, 6-1.
“It was a painful loss because we had so many opportunities to win,” Davis said. “We had what looked like five convincing victories, but we only won three.”
The Gauchos will continue their season next week in San Diego. They will play at University of San Diego on Saturday, February 20 and at San Diego State the following day.
UC IRVINE 4, UCSB 3
Singles
No.1 Sam Gould (UCI) def. Alex Konigsfeldt (UCSB) 1-6, 7-5, 6-3
No.2 Fabian Matthews (UCI) def. Mathieu Forget (UCSB) 6-2, 6-3
No.3 Scott Hohenstein (UCSB) def. Shimpei Suzuki (UCI) 6-1, 6-2
No.4 Zac Tsai (UCI) def. Taylor Chavez Goggin (UCSB) 1-6, 6-3, (6-2)
No.5 Lucas Sudow (UCSB) def. Steven Henderson (UCI) 6-3, 6-2
No.6 Benjamin Recknagel (UCSB) def. Stephen Stege (UCI) 6-4, 6-1
Doubles
No.1 Konigsfeldt/Chavez Goggin (UCSB) def. Issara /Gould (UCI) 8-4
No.2 Tsai/Henderson (UCI) def. Sudow/Recknagel (UCSB) 8-6
No.3 Matthews/Northcott (UCI) def. Hohenstein/Jurgensen (UCSB) 8-6
