Berkeley, Calif.- The No. 74 UC Santa Barbara women's tennis team upset the No. 32 Kansas Jayhawks by a score of 4-3 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday.
This is the first NCAA Tournament win for the Gauchos in program history. The first NCAA appearance for UCSB was in 1994 when the Gauchos lost to Notre Dame 5-3. Two years later, the Gauchos returned to the NCAA Tournament but were defeated by Pepperdine 6-0.
On their third trip, the Gauchos were looking to end that losing trend.
Due to an injured player, Kansas was forced to default a doubles match and a singles match as the team only consisted of six players. The Gauchos began the morning up 1-0 before the match had even started.
Stephanie Yamada and Melissa Baker clinched the doubles point for the Gauchos with a 6-3 win over Kansas' Anastasiya Rychagova and Smith Hinton. The clinch gave UCSB the 2-0 lead heading into singles.
Janet Koch was able to put the Jayhawks on the board early on in singles. She defeated Stefani Stojic 6-2, 6-3 on court three to bring the score to 2-1.
Palina Dubavets put the Gauchos within striking distance their first NCAA win with her 6-2, 6-4 victory over Smith Hinton on court two.
Despite being down, the Jayhawks kept the pressure on the Gauchos as they were able to get two big wins to tie the score up at three.
After handily winning the first set 6-2, No. 77 Anastasiya Rychagova watched a 4-1 second set lead over UCSB's Lou Adler disappear as Adler stormed back to tie it at 4-4. However, the Gaucho sophomore was unable to complete her comeback and fell to Rychagova 6-2, 7-5, bringing the match score to 3-2 in favor of UCSB.
At the time of Adler's loss, Gilbertson was in a battle on court four. She had fought her way to a 7-6(1) first set win over Nina Khmelnitchkaia, but fell 6-3 in the following set. Gilbertson led by a score of 4-2 in the third when Khmelnitchkaia climbed back into it, tying the set at four each. The momentum that Khmelnitchkaia had gained was too much for Gilbertson to fight through and Khmelnitchkaia ultimately won the match 6-7(1), 6-3, 6-4.
All eyes were on court five between two players locked in a tight battle.
UCSB's Amanda Atanasson saw herself in a 5-2 hole to Kansas' Maria Jose Cardona in the first set. The Gaucho never gave up and was able to fight back to tie the match at 5-5, ultimately winning the set in a dominant tiebreak 7-6(1).
Roles reversed in the second set as it was Cardona who wiped away a 4-2 deficit to be down 4-5. The tiebreak trend continued for the two as Cardona was able to win the second set 7-6(0) to force a third set.
Cardona got two quick games to start the third set, but Atanasson stayed with the Jayhawk and tied the score up at 3-3. Cardona stayed strong and composed as she was able to take back the lead and bring the score to 5-4, but Atanasson never stopped. The sophomore didn't let Jayhawk find her rhythm and fought for a 6-6 tiebreak.
Cardona came out firing in the last tiebreak of the day. The Jayhawk took an early 5-2 lead, needing just two more points to send Kansas to the second round. Atanasson clawed her way back into the tiebreak, tying it at 5-5. The score teeter tottered for six more points until it was tied at 8-8. At 8-8, Atanasson gave one final push. She won the next two points, getting the 10-8 tiebreak win to send the Gauchos to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history.
Assistant coach Erica Cano said that making the tournament was a plan from the start of the season.
"We set a list of team goals at the beginning of this year" she said. "Topping the list was not only winning the conference but at leas a round in the NCAA and we achieved that today".
The Gauchos will look to continue to make history tomorrow as they take on No. 1 California. The top ranked team in the nation cruised through their first round opponents the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley by a 4-0 score right after the Gauchos' win.
"Now, our goal is to beat CAL tomorrow and we'll come at them with everything we have" Cano said.
Cano played on the UCSB women's tennis team from 2009-2013 and was a part of head coach Simon Thibodeau's first Gaucho team.
"I've been with this program for seven years, and finally seeing it coming to fruition is quite literally a dream come true. It's been a labor of love helping build the program alongside Simon, and I can't wait to see what the future has in store for us".
"First of all, I'd like to tip my hat to Kansas for their performance" Thibodeau said after the match. "We are definitely happy with the win, making history, and moving forward. Cal will definitely be a fun challenge tomorrow. My Gaucho team is special and deserving of this post season win, still knowing there is room to grow and to play better".
Second round action will take place Saturday at 3pm at Hellman Tennis Complex in Berkeley. Follow @CalWomensTennis on Twitter for live updates or stream the match online here.
NCAA Championship First Round
No. 74 UC Santa Barbara (19-7) defeats No. 32 Kansas (17-8) – 4-3
May 13, 2016, in Berkeley, Calif.
Hellman Tennis Complex
Doubles
1. Nina Khmelnitchkaia/Janet Koch (Kansas) vs. No. 22 Palina Dubavets/Stefani Stojic (UCSB) – 5-3 Abandoned
2. Stephanie Yamada/Melissa Baker (UCSB) def. Anastasiya Rychagova/Smith Hinton (Kansas) – 6-3
3. UCSB wins by default
UCSB wins the doubles point
Order of Finish – 3, 2
Singles
1. No. 77 Anastasiya Rychagova (Kansas) def. Lou Adler (UCSB) – 6-2, 7-5
2. Palina Dubavets (UCSB) def. Smith Hinton (Kansas) – 6-2, 6-4
3. Janet Koch (Kansas) def. Stefani Stojic (UCSB) – 6-2, 6-3
4. Nina Khmelnitchkaia (Kansas) def. Jaimee Gilbertson (UCSB) – 6-7(1), 6-3, 6-4
5. Amanda Atanasson (UCSB) def. Maria Jose Cardona (Kansas) – 7-6(5), 6-7(0). 7-6(8)
6. UCSB wins by default
Order of Finish – 6, 3, 2, 1, 4, 5
