FRESNO, Calif. – For the third time during the Gauchos' three-match road trip, the UCSB men's tennis team saw their match come down to the final point, and for the second time the Gauchos lost, this time dropping the 4-3 match to Fresno State in Fresno, Calif. on Monday afternoon.
With the score tied at 3-all, the match was decided at No. 4 singles where freshman Cody Rakela took on the Bulldogs' Adam Glynn. Down a set in the match, Rakela fought back to force a tiebreaker in the second set but eventually fell 7-4, giving the final point to Fresno State.
Fresno State opened the match with a 1-0 lead after clinching the doubles point with wins at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles. The Bulldogs' Sai Kartik Nakireddi and Nikolas Papic topped sophomore Morgan Mays and junior Andrew Riminton 6-0 at the No. 3 court before Gauchos Nathan Eshmade and Erik Johnsson battled to a tiebreaker to edge Euan McIntosh and Youssef Hassan 7-6(2) at No. 1 doubles.
The doubles point came down to No. 2 doubles, where Fresno State's Adam Glynn and Eric Komati were able to force a tiebreak and defeat senior Ziad Sultan and sophomore Teague Hamilton 7-6(2) to earn the doubles point for the Bulldogs.
In singles play, the Gauchos battled hard but lost half of their singles matches to give the Bulldogs the 4-3 win.
At No. 3 singles, Fresno State's Euan McIntosh downed Ziad Sultan 6-3, 6-1 to stretch the Bulldogs' lead to 2-0 before Nathan Eshmade put the Gauchos on the board after dropping Nikolas Papic 6-1, 6-2 at the No. 1 spot.
The Bulldogs took a commanding 3-1 lead after Sai Kartik Nakireddi halted Morgan Mays' nine-match win streak in a 6-3, 6-1 defeat but Santa Barbara used two victories at the bottom of the lineup to stay alive in the match and tie things up at 3-all.
Erik Johnsson handed Eric Komati a 6-2, 6-1 loss at No. 5 singles to earn the second Gaucho point of the match and Teague Hamilton posted a 6-3, 6-4 win at the No. 6 position to pull the Gauchos to a 3-3 tie before the Bulldogs won at No. 4 singles to win the match.
The 4-3 loss drops UCSB's record to 3-9 on the road and 11-9 overall while the Bulldogs improve to 9-1 at home and 15-9 on the season.
The Gauchos will return home to the Rec Cen Courts for their final match of the regular season next Saturday, April 18 when they host Blue-Green rivals, No. 49 Cal Poly. The Senior Day match will celebrate senior captains Tobias Galskov and Ziad Sultan in their final home matches for the Gauchos. Action is set to begin at 2:00 pm.
#65 UC Santa Barbara at Fresno State
April 13, 2015 at Fresno, Calif. (Spalding G. Wathen Tennis Center)
Fresno State 4, #65 UC Santa Barbara 3
Doubles
1. Nathan Eshmade/Erik Johnsson (UCSB) def. Euan McIntosh/Youssef Hassan (FS) 7-6 (7-2)
2. Adam Glynn/Eric Komati (FS) def. Ziad Sultan/Teague Hamilton (UCSB) 7-6 (7-2)
3. Sai Kartik Nakireddi/Nikolas Papic (FS) def. Morgan Mays/Andrew Riminton (UCSB) 6-0
Singles
1. Nathan Eshmade (UCSB) def. Nikolas Papic (FS) 6-1, 6-2
2. Sai Kartik Nakireddi (FS) def. Morgan Mays (UCSB) 6-3, 6-1
3. Euan McIntosh (FS) def. Ziad Sultan (UCSB) 6-3, 6-1
4. Adam Glynn (FS) def. Cody Rakela (UCSB) 6-3, 7-6 (7-4)
5. Erik Johnsson (UCSB) def. Eric Komati (FS) 6-2, 6-1
6. Teague Hamilton (UCSB) def. Youssef Hassan (FS) 6-3, 6-4
Order of finish: Doubles (3, 1, 2); Singles (3, 1, 2, 5, 6, 4)
UCSB Season Record: Overall (11-9); Big West (2-2)
