After recording their first conference win on Wednesday, the Gauchos (6-10; Big West 1-0) fell in a tough battle against visiting No. 19-ranked Boise State (17-3) on Friday as they returned to non-conference play at the Rec Cen Courts.
The UCSB men lost in a heartbreaking doubles competition and were defeated in five of six singles matches en route to the 6-1 loss.
The Gauchos seemed to be on their way to a 1-0 lead after winning at No. 1 doubles and leading at the No. 2 position but were narrowly edged as the Broncos came back to take the match at court 2 and triumphed in the tiebreak at No. 3 doubles.
Juniors Tobias Galskov and Ziad Sultan gave the Gauchos early momentum after defeating Boise State’s duo of McClain and Patton 8-6 but the Broncos came back with a win of their own at No. 3 doubles, where Bettles/Reid slipped past UCSB’s Hamilton/Riminton 7-5 in the tiebreaker.
The doubles point came down to No. 2 doubles, where Erik Johnsson and Miles Seemann were serving at 5-4 in the tiebreak. Boise State’s Mitchell/Sereke battled back to rattle off three straight points and secure the doubles point for the Broncos.
Boise State carried that momentum to the singles competition and won all but one singles match to defeat the Gauchos 6-1.
Junior Ziad Sultan was the lone Gaucho to post a win as he defeated Nathan Sereke 6-1, 6-7, 12-10 at No. 2 singles.
A couple of Gauchos saw their winning streaks snapped in the loss. Junior Tobias Galskov’s eight match streak came to an end as he was shut out by No. 86-ranked Andy Bettles at No. 1 singles and freshman Teague Hamilton was dropped in a match tiebreaker at No. 5 singles to end his four match undefeated streak.
UCSB will return to the courts in the last match of their 10-match home stand when they take on the University of San Francisco on Sunday. The Gauchos have posted a 4-5 record on the home stand so far and will look to close it out on a positive note and even the record to 5-5.
First serve is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Sunday at the Rec Cen Courts.
RESULTS
No. 19 Boise State 6, UC Santa Barbara 1
March 28, 2014
Rec Cen Courts (Santa Barbara, Calif.)Doubles
1. Galskov/Sultan (UCSB) def. McClain/Patton (BSU) 8-6
2. Mitchell/Sereke (BSU) def. Johnsson/Seemann (UCSB) 8-7 (5)
3. Bettles/Reid (BSU) def. Hamilton/Riminton (UCSB) 8-7 (5)Singles
1. No. 86 Andy Bettles (BSU) def. Tobias Galskov (UCSB) 6-0, 6-0
2. Ziad Sultan (UCSB) def. Nathan Sereke (BSU) 6-1, 6-7, 12-10
3. Garrett Patton (BSU) def. Sasha Gryaznov (UCSB) 6-2, 6-1
4. Brendan McClain (BSU) def. Erik Johnsson (UCSB) 6-1, 6-0
5. Brian Foley (BSU) def. Teague Hamilton (UCSB) 1-6, 6-4, 10-3
6. Toby Mitchell (BSU) def. Miles Seemann (UCSB) 6-3, 6-4Order of Finish: Doubles (1, 3, 2); Singles (3, 4, 1, 5, 6, 2)
UCSB Season Record: 6-10; Big West 1-0
