After an exciting 4-3 victory against LMU on Saturday, the Gauchos (2-3) found themselves on the other side of a close 4-3 decision in a loss against Pac-12 opponent, University of Arizona (7-5) on Sunday. UC Santa Barbara dropped the doubles point but kept it close in singles play and came close to winning another tight match.
Arizona grabbed a quick lead after winning the doubles point with wins on Courts 2 and 3. The Gauchos have been struggling in doubles play as of late, losing the in doubles for the third straight match.
“We were terrible in doubles for both days,” said Coach Marty Davis and added that the team would emphasize working on doubles in preparation for their next match.
The Gauchos were able to bounce back with a quick win in singles on Court 6 where freshman Teague Hamilton won for the second match in a row, defeating Arizona’s Carlos Bermudez 6-3, 6-2.
Arizona responded with two wins at the No. 4 and No. 1 positions to put the Gauchos in a 3-1 hole.
Attention turned to Court 3, where senior Sasha Gryaznov took on Arizona’s Sumeet Shinde. Gryaznov, already down a set, was down 4-5 in the second set and saved two match points before he was able to break serve and bring the set to a tiebreak. Shinde won the close tiebreaker 7-5 to make the overall score 4-1.
The match was essentially over at that point, but the teams continued to play on Courts 2 and 5.
UCSB freshman Erik Johnsson continued his strong play, notching his fourth win of the season in a three setter on Court 5 where he defeated Mario Urquidi 6-4, 0-6, 6-5. On Court 2, junior #79 Tobias Galskov again showed his comeback ability, battling back from a set down to take the second set and the 10-point tiebreak to bring the final score to 4-3.
“Galskov’s one tough competitor,” said Coach Marty Davis. “The longer the matches go, the better I like his chances,” Davis added.
The Gauchos played in an unusual setting for their match against Pac-12 powerhouse Arizona after the Rec Cen Courts were deemed unplayable due to the shade from the MAC building. Instead, the match was played at the Rob Gym Courts.
UC Santa Barbara will next travel to Hawaii to take on Hawaii Pacific on Saturday, Feb. 15 at 12pm PST and then face off against the University of Hawaii on Feb. 16 in their first conference match this season.
Arizona 4, UC Santa Barbara 3
Santa Barbara (Rob Gym Courts)Doubles
1. Sultan/Gryaznov (UCSB) vs. Ask/Thompson (UA) 4-5, DNF
2. Takeda/Shinde (UA) def. Galskov/Seemann (UCSB) 6-4
3. Urquidi/Dunn (UA) def. Riminton/Hamilton (UCSB) 6-2Singles
1. Fredrik Ask (UA) def. Ziad Sultan (UCSB) 6-5, 6-0
2. #79 Tobias Galskov (UCSB) def. Kieren Thompson (UA) 3-6, 6-3, 10-6
3. Sumeet Shinde (UA) def. Sasha Gryaznov (UCSB) 6-5, 6-5
4. Naoki Takeda (UA) def. Andrew Riminton (UCSB) 6-2, 6-0
5. Erik Johnsson (UCSB) def. Mario Urquidi (UA) 6-4, 0-6, 6-5
6. Teague Hamilton (UCSB) def. Carlos Bermudez (UA) 6-3, 6-2Order of Finish: Doubles (3, 2); Singles (6, 4, 1, 3, 5, 2)
UCSB Season Record: 2-3
