SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - UC Santa Barbara men's tennis has won two straight matches, and five of their last six following Sunday's victory over Drake University 4-3. The Gauchos move to 7-9 overall and 5-2 at home, while the Bulldogs drop to 4-16 on the season. 

UCSB Gauchos took home the doubles point, but the Gauchos were nearly pushed to the limit in singles play. Huge wins by Victor Krustev and Josh Williams, plus Wilhelm Saiga's match clincher proved to be the difference in this matchup. 

Doubles started as well as possible for the home team, as Alejandro Vedri and Joseph Guillin charged past Barny Thorold and Reid Jarvis 6-0 on court two. The Bulldogs tied it up by defeating Alex Soto and Williams on court three, 6-2, but Krustev and Joseph Rotheram continued their winning ways with a 6-4 victory on court one. The win for the number ones over Oliver Johansson and Matija Matic marks their third win in four contests, the other being unfinished at 5-5. 

Victor Krustev has been one of UCSB's hottest players recently, with his singles win on court two over Thorold making him 6-1 in his last seven duals, his only loss being to #58 Gui Osorio. Krustev is 10-5 in singles this season. 

The match suddenly tightened up; UCSB dropped matches on court three when Jarvis got the best on Vedri in two sets right before #26 Guillin was upset by Johansson. 

Williams provided some breathing room for UCSB on court six. After fighting for a 4-1 lead in set one, David Nyman tested the young Gaucho by forcing a set tiebreaker, which Williams passed. Williams won the second set 6-2, and his fourth match in six goes - one unfinished and one defeat.

Rotheram came back to win set two 6-2 after losing his first in a tiebreak. Evan Fragistas pulled away in set three for the Bulldogs, bringing the outcome of the match down to the competitors on court five. Saiga won a tough and long first set 7-6 against Freddie Powell, and his endurance proved to be the difference in the 6-4 win. 

UCSB was scheduled to face UNLV at home on Wednesday, but the match has been cancelled due to weather concerns, and is moved to the 14th at 2:00pm. UCSB is next set to face Hawai'i on Friday in a road contest at 10:00am.

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