STOCKTON, Calif. – UCSB men's tennis dropped their match against No. 66 Pacific (3-1) to split their weekend matches on the road in Northern California. The Gauchos (2-2) were narrowly edged for the doubles point and lost three singles matches in the 4-1 loss, falling to 2-2 in Big West play and 9-11 overall.
The Gauchos kept the scores close in doubles but were defeated in the tiebreaker at court 3 to give the Tigers the 1-0 lead. UCSB pair Andrew Riminton/Miles Seemann continued their strong doubles play, moving up to the No. 2 position where they defeated Pacific's Hamilton/Stolyarov 8-6. At the No. 1 position, Mbonisi Ndimande/Ziad Sultan lost 8-6 against Pacific's No. 1 duo Goulding/Verbeek. The doubles point came down to court 3 where Sasha Gryaznov/Jacob Johnson, playing together for the first time this season, battled hard but ultimately lost 9-8 (5) in the tiebreaker.
Pacific kept their momentum going into singles play and took the next three singles matches to win the match 4-1. The Gauchos received a win from sophomore Miles Seemann at the No. 6 position in straight sets 6-2, 6-3 to avoid the sweep.
Senior Mbonisi Ndimande lost in a hard fought battle at court 1, where he was defeated by Tigers' No. 1 Sam Verbeek after he couldn't continue in the third set. Sophomore Ziad Sultan moved up to the No. 2 position and was edged 6-3, 6-4. Freshman Andrew Riminton took the loss at court 4 against Daniel Alameh 6-3, 7-6 (5). Play was suspended at courts 3 and 5 after Pacific clinched the victory.
After struggling on the road this season, the Gauchos will play out the remainder of their matches at the Rec Cen Courts, where they've accumulated a 6-3 record. UCSB will face Hawaii on Wednesday, Apr. 17 beginning at 1:30 PM (PST) and will conclude the regular season against rivals Cal Poly on Saturday, Apr. 20 at 1:00 PM (PST).
No. 66 Pacific 4, UCSB 1
DOUBLES
1. Goulding/Verbeek (PAC) def. Ndimande/Sultan (UCSB) 8-6
2. Riminton/Seemann (UCSB) def. Hamilton/Stolyarov (PAC) 8-6
3. Cederwall/Alameh (PAC) def. Gryaznov/Johnson (UCSB) 9-8 (5)
SINGLES
1. Sam Verbeek (PAC) def. Mbonisi Ndimande (UCSB) 1-6, 6-4, 2-0 (ret.)
2. Alex Goulding (PAC) def. Ziad Sultan (UCSB) 6-3, 6-4
3. Denis Stolyarov (PAC) vs. Alexander Gryaznov (UCSB) 7-5, 5-5 DNF
4. Daniel Alameh (PAC) def. Andrew Riminton (UCSB) 6-3, 7-6 (5)
5. Ben Mirkin (PAC) vs. Jacob Johnson (UCSB) 4-6, 6-6 DNF
6. Miles Seemann (UCSB) def. Erik Cederwall (PAC) 6-2, 6-3
UCSB SEASON RECORD: 9-11; Big West 2-2
