LOS ANGELES - Junior Victor Krustev swept his No. 3 singles match and also teamed with Joey Rotheram to dominate their No. 2 doubles match, but UC Santa Barbara dropped its season-opener at UCLA on Wednesday, 6-1.
Krustev began his afternoon by joining Rotheram with a dominant 6-0 sweep of Bruins' (3-1) Drew Baird and Sam Feit. It was the only doubles win for the Gauchos (0-1), but it was one to remember.
"Victor (Krustev) and Joey (Rotheram) were absolutely spectacular," said head coach Marty Davis. "They played great, classic, old school doubles. They took over the net and made a really high percentage of their serves. They were dominant."
In his No. 3 singles match, Krustev easily swept past UCLA's Ben Goldberg, 6-2, 6-2.
"Victor was a level above his opponent at No. 3," Davis said. "Overall, it was obviously a very, very good day for him. He played at a very high level and the results show that."
While Krustev's match was the only victory for UCSB, several others were close.
At No. 4, Feit defeated sophomore
Alejandro Vedri, but he needed three sets for the 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 win. At No. 6, UCLA's Patrick Zahraj topped UCSB freshman
Pablo Masjuan, 6-4, 7-6 (7-2). At No. 2, it was Drew Baird over junior
Stefano Tsorotiotis, a transfer from Oklahoma, 6-4, 7-5.
At No. 1 singles, Keegan Smith, the 10th ranked player in the nation, defeated
Joseph Guillin, the 27th ranked player, 6-2, 6-4. Rotheram fell to Mathew Tsolakyan in his No. 5 singles match, 6-4, 6-3.
"I'm proud of the way our guys competed in their first match of the year," Davis said. "It was a very good day from that standpoint. It was really much closer than the 6-1 score. We were a couple of points away from forcing a couple more third sets. The guys really battled."
The Gauchos will return to action on Saturday, Feb. 27 when they host Loyola Marymount in a 1:00 p.m. match at the Recreation Center Courts. As with all other sports, no spectators will be allowed.
