Schedule
Friday, May 6, 2022 at 10:00 AM
No. 24 UC Santa Barbara vs. No. 26 Kansas
Taube Family Tennis Center - Stanford, Calif.
Livestream – NCAA Program
Gauchos To Face Kansas in NCAA First Round at Stanford Regional
Monday's NCAA Tournament selection show revealed that the Gauchos will take on Kansas in the first round. UCSB enters the tournament with a stellar 20-6 record which includes a perfect 9-0 record against Big West opponents as well as wins over No. 12 USC and No. 24 Stanford. The Gauchos, playing in the tournament for the sixth time in program history, are also riding an 11-match winning streak heading into their matchup with the Jayhawks. The prevailing team will move on to face the winner of the matchup between 15-seed Stanford and Southeast Missouri State on Saturday morning.
Santa Barbara Sweeps Big West Major Awards
Shakhnoza Khatamova won Player of the Year, Amelia Honer was named Freshman of the Year, and Simon Thibodeau took Coach of the Year as the Gauchos swept the Big West's major awards for the second year in a row. Khatamova and Thibodeau both earned their respective honors for the second consecutive year. Honer followed in the footsteps of teammate Camille Kiss, 2021's Freshman of the Year winner.
UCSB Claims Three Dominant Wins to Repeat as Big West Champions
Santa Barbara capped off their second consecutive Big West Championship with a 4-1 win over Cal Poly on Saturday after shutting out UC Irvine and Cal State Fullerton in the first two rounds. The championship was the team's tenth in program history and fourth since 2016 and secured the second consecutive trip to the NCAA Championships for the Gauchos.
Top-Seeded Gauchos to Face Irvine or Riverside in Quarterfinals
The Gauchos enter the Big West Championships as the No. 1 seed, meaning they get a first-round bye. Their opponent will be decided by a first-round matchup between No. 8 UC Irvine and No. 9 UC Riverside. During the regular season, Santa Barbara defeated the Anteaters 6-1 (Apr. 16) and the Highlanders 4-0 (Apr. 9). The Gauchos are looking to repeat as champions, having won their third title over the last five years in 2021. A championship would mark the tenth in program history. At last years' tournament, UCSB didn't allow a single point in three matches. The only other team to accomplish the feat was the 2008 Gauchos squad. Entering the tournament, the Gauchos are 46-4 against Big West opponents since 2016.
Santa Barbara Earns Fourth Consecutive Regular Season Championship
The No. 25 Gauchos wrapped up the regular season with a 4-1 win at No. 65 Cal Poly, securing the team's fourth regular season championship. The teams were both undefeated in conference play entering the match, meaning the match decided the champion. Amelia Honer and Kira Reuter clinched the doubles point with a 6-3 win on court two and singles wins from Honer, Filippa Bruu-Syversen, and Camille Kiss sealed the win. The victory clinched a second consecutive season in which UCSB has gone undefeated in conference play.
Gauchos Looking to Seal Big West Regular Season Championships
Both the Gauchos and Mustangs enter the final regular season match with 8-0 records against Big West opponents. The winner will be the regular season champion and the top seed in the Big West Tournament later this month. Santa Barbara has won the last three regular season championships, excluding the 2020 season which was cancelled.
UCSB Riding Seven-Match Win Streak Heading into Final Regular Season Match
Santa Barbara's seven-match run included wins over UC San Diego, UC Irvine, and No. 64 Cal State Fullerton to kick off the four-match season-closing road trip. The Gauchos only allowed one point over the three matches, beating the Tritons 4-0, the Anteaters 6-1, and the Titans 4-0. Filippa Bruu-Syversen had a big weekend, going 3-0 in singles and 2-0 in doubles. In her first collegiate matchup on singles court three, the freshman didn't give up a game, shutting out UCSD's Naomi Nugyen 6-0, 6-0.
Gauchos Shut Out Riverside, CSUN, Improve to 5-0 in Big West Play
The Gauchos made quick work of both UC Riverside and CSUN, shutting out both 4-0 on Saturday. The wins led to a four-match winning streak and a perfect 5-0 Big West record. Santa Barbara still enters the next weekend of play a game behind Cal Poly in the standings as they are undefeated in six conference matches. Amelia Honer went 3-0 on the weekend, beating UCR's Serina Saltzen 6-0, 6-0 and CSUN's Sasha Turchak 6-2, 6-0, both on court four. The freshman added a 6-2 doubles win on court three against CSUN along with doubles partner Priscila Janikian.
Pair of Wins Contributes to 3-0 Conference Record
The Gauchos beat Long Beach State and No. 75 Hawaii over the weekend to improve to 3-0 against Big West opponents this season. Santa Barbara has also won six of their last seven matches, with the only loss coming against No. 5 Pepperdine (March 23). UCSB won 5-2 against the Rainbow Wahine and 4-1 over the Beach. Amelia Honer had a standout weekend, going 2-0 in singles and 1-1 in doubles. The freshman lost just one game between her two singles matches, and as half of the No. 68 doubles duo along with Kira Reuter, she won her doubles match against Hawaii 6-3.
Gauchos Earn Historic Victory Over No. 24 Stanford, Fall to No. 5 Pepperdine
The Gauchos, ranked No. 30 at the time, beat No. 24 Stanford 4-3 on Tuesday in what was a historic win. Santa Barbara was previously 0-12 against the 20-time NCAA Champions. After coming back to win the doubles point, UCSB received singles wins from Camille Kiss, Filippa Bruu-Syversen, and Amelia Honer. Heading into the match, the Cardinals were 8-0 at home on the season and had surrendered only four points. The loss was just their sixth home loss in their last 92 matches dating back to 2018. The following day, the Gauchos were swept by No. 5 Pepperdine at home in a tough matchup. The Waves had ranked players on all six courts for the singles portion. Following the 1-1 week, Santa Barbara moved back up to No. 25 in the team rankings, tied for the highest in program history after also being No. 25 in the March 9 rankings.
Successful Texas Trip Leads to No. 25 Ranking
The Gauchos beat Texas Tech and TCU on March 4 and 6, winning both matches by a score of 5-2 to improve to 8-5 on the season. Against Texas Tech, Shakhnoza Khatamova and Camille Kiss beat the No. 16 and No. 62 singles players, respectively. The wins helped Santa Barbara move up to their highest ranking in program history at No. 25, but after two weeks of no matches, the Gauchos moved back to No. 30. Elizaveta Volodko went 4-0 over the Texas trip, earning her third career Big West Player of the Week Award. Volodko's honor was the fifth of the season for the Gauchos.
Gauchos Beat No. 12 USC, Move to No. 29
Santa Barbara had a huge win over the weekend, taking down twelfth-ranked USC 4-3, bouncing back from a 3-4 loss to LMU that snapped a four-match win streak the previous day. The win over the Trojans, helped the Gauchos move down from No. 41 all the way to No. 29. Amelia Honer went a perfect 4-0 on the weekend, including a 6-1 win over USC's nineteenth-ranked doubles team along with doubles partner Kira Reuter, en route to earning her first Big West Player of the Week award. This was the fourth time a Gaucho has earned the honor through the first seven weeks of the season.
Gauchos Look to Continue Four Match Win Streak
The Gauchos are currently on a four-match win streak, having won all three of their matches over the holiday weekend. On Friday, Santa Barbara dominated PAC-12 opponent Washington State 7-0 and went on to beat San Diego 5-2 on Sunday and UC Davis 4-0 on Monday. Shakhnoza Khatamova and Elizaveta Volodko both went a perfect 6-0 on the weekend, including 3-0 as court one doubles partners. Khatamova was 3-0 on court one singles while Volodko was undefeated on court two.
Time to Start a Streak
With three matches in four days, the Gauchos have an opportunity to get hot coming off their 6-1 victory over San Francisco on Feb. 5. Against the Dons', the Santa Barbara came back to win the doubles point and Camille Kiss had a triumphant 6-0, 6-0 shutout on singles court three. The USF win came less than 24 hours after taking on UCLA in Los Angeles, a match which the Bruins won 4-0.
ITA Kickoff Weekend at UCF
The Gauchos travelled to Orlando for the second weekend of the dual match season and took on UCF and Arizona State. Against UCF, the Gauchos lost 4-2, but Camille Kiss was a bright spot, defeating the Knights' No. 102 Marie Mattel in two sets, 6-2, 7-6 (7-6). Shakhnoza Khatamova and Elizaveta Volodko also secured a 6-3 win on doubles court one. Santa Barbara dropped their match against Arizona State 4-1, but Khatamova took home a 6-2, 7-6 (7-2) win over the Sun Devil's Giulia Morlet on court one.
Strong Opening Weekend
The Gauchos went 1-1 to begin the dual season, dropping their opening match to No. 9 California by a score of 6-1, but bouncing back to beat St. Mary's 4-0 less than 24 hours later. UCSB snatched the doubles point against the Golden Bears, which included a 6-2 win for Shakhnoza Khatamova and Elizaveta Volodko over the no. 27 ranked doubles team in the nation on court one. The St. Mary's win was highlighted by Amelia Honer and Kira Reuter clinching the doubles point for Santa Barbara, erasing a 4-0 deficit and winning the tiebreaker 7-1. Camille Kiss secured the victory for the Gauchos with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 comeback win of her own against the Gaels' Julia Ronney in number three singles.
Live Stream
Live stream coverage of each court will be provided for all home matches this season courtesy of PlaySight. To watch any of the six courts in competition, simply click this link, and select the court you want to watch.
Arnhold Tennis Center
The Gauchos are playing their home matches this season in their brand new facility: the Arnhold Tennis Center. The center features a digital scoreboard, raised stadium seating, and live stream cameras on every court.
Run it Back
The defending Big West Champions are back on the courts for the dual match season and will be looking to become repeat champions once again as they did in 2016 and 2017. Before falling in the first round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament to Stanford, the Gauchos rode a 12-match winstreak to the Big West Championship where they swept rival Cal Poly to hoist the trophy once again. They finished the year with a 13-4 overall record and went an undefeated 8-0 in conference play. Heading into the 2022 season, UCSB boasts the reigning Big West Coach of the Year in Simon Thibodeau, the reigning Big West Player of the Year in Shakhnoza Khatamova, and last year's Big West Freshman of the Year, Camille Kiss.
Killer Khatamova
Reigning Big West Player of the Year, Shakhnoza Khatamova, started off her senior year with some flare back in November when she went undefeated at the Stanford Invitational. All-together she won all three of her singles matches, dropping just one set in the tourney, and won both of her doubles bouts alongside her veteran partner Elizaveta Volodko.
Women of Troy Invitational
In mid-October the Gauchos traveled south to take part in the Women of Troy Invitational hosted by USC. Among other singles and doubles wins by the Gauchos, the headline belonged to reigning Big West Freshman of the Year Camille Kiss as she highlighted the first day of competition by taking down a then ranked opponent in San Diego's #107 Jordyn McBride 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. Kiss would go on to win her flight in the tourney taking down CSUN's Jolene Coetzee 6-2, 6-2 and Eva Marie Voracek from LMU 6-4, 6-3.
Cal Fall Invitational
UCSB took the courts for the first time this season back in September at the Cal Fall Invitational and did not disappoint going 23-12 in tournament.
Freshman Amelia Honer won the singles consolation bracket in her collegiate debut defeating Angelina Ruja from Pacific 3-6, 7-6, 10-4. On the doubles side, three Gaucho duos in Shakhnoza Khatamova & Honer, Camille Kiss & Marta Gonzalez Ballbe, and Kira Reuter & Filippa Bruu-Syversen all advanced to the final round of their respective draws.
