INDIAN WELLS, Calif.- The top seeded UCSB Men's Tennis team won its second straight Big West Tournament title this weekend after downing the second seed, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, by a score of 4-1.
This is the team's first back-to-back title since it took four straight from 2006-2009. With Santa Barbara's women's team winning on the other side over Hawaii 4-0, today marks the first time that any school has swept the Big West Tournament since 2010.
"I am so pleased with how our team played today," Head Coach Marty Davis said. "We were so dominant in every way and I really feel like were deserving of this championship."
The Gauchos started off the match with a strong performance in doubles play, taking two quick matches on the lower courts.
The veteran team of senior Andrew Riminton and junior Co-Captain Morgan Mays was off the court first with a huge 6-1 win on court three. The Gauchos defeated the Mustang team of Dan Cardiff and Karl Enader to give their team the edge.
The freshmen duo of Nicolas Moreno de Alboran and Anders Holm sealed the doubles point for Santa Barbara downing Garret Auproux and Tim Tan on court two with ease, 6-2.
The Gauchos headed into singles play with a 1-0 lead and looked for just three wins to be crowned champions.
Santa Barbara was the first to strike in the singles round with two straight wins to take a 3-0 lead over rival Cal Poly.
Junior co-captain Teague Hamilton grabbed the first win defeating Sreyas Kolachalam on court six 6-1, 7-5 and remains undefeated in dual matches this season. Moreno de Alboran added the second win as he defeated Garret Auproux for the second time this week on court two 7-5, 6-3.
"Hamilton got off the court so quick and I really think that gives us huge momentum when we can get out to a fast 2-0 lead," said Davis. "It's amazing to have a guy on our team that's 12-0 in singles."
Cal Poly added its only point of the day to the board winning the next singles match on court five to cut the lead to 3-1.
Finally, in a three set battle on court four the championship was sealed as Holm defeated Josh Ortlip 6-1, 2-6, 6-1 to give the Gauchos a 4-1 win and conference honors.
Santa Barbara held leads on both courts one and three before winning the match on four. The Gauchos handed Cal Poly is second straight defeat after topping the Mustangs in San Luis Obispo last Saturday 5-2.
"I am so proud of these guys and they are really students of the game," Davis explained. "I really think we can do some damage in the NCAA Tournament."
The Gauchos will now have an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament with this win, making the big dance for the second straight year.
Final Match Results
Big West Tournament Final
No. 1 UC Santa Barbara 4 – No. 2 Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
DOUBLES
1. No. 76 Nathan Eshmade/Miles Seemann(UCSB) vs. Ben Donovan/Corey Pang (CP) DNF
2. Nicolas Moreno de Alboran/Anders Holm (UCSB) def. Garrett Auproux/Tim Tan (CP) 6-2
3. Morgan Mays/Andrew Riminton (UCSB) def. Dan Cardiff/Karl Enander (CP) 6-1
Order of Finish: 3, 2
SINGLES
1. Nathan Eshmade (UCSB) vs. Ben Donovan (CP) DNF
2. Nicolas Moreno de Alboran (UCSB) def. Garrett Auproux (CP) 7-5, 6-3
3. Morgan Mays (UCSB) vs. Corey Pang (CP) DNF
4. Anders Holm (UCSB) def. Josh Ortlip (CP) 6-1, 2-6, 6-1
5. Axel Damiens (CP) def. Cody Rakela (UCSB) 6-4, 6-3
6. Teague Hamilton (UCSB) def. Sreyas Kolachalam (CP) 6-1, 7-5
Order of Finish: 6, 2, 5, 4
