SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (March 9, 2023) — The No. 33 UC Santa Barbara men's tennis team stretched their winning streak to three on Thursday, defeating Utah State at the Arnhold Tennis Center. Seven Gauchos earned wins across both singles and doubles to take down the Aggies by a final score of 4-2. UCSB's overall record rises to 12-1, continuing what is one of their best-ever seasons.
THE MATCH
Final: UC Santa Barbara 4, Utah State 2
Records: UC Santa Barbara (12-1, 1-0 Big West) vs. Utah State (4-8, 0-0 Mountain West)
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Gauchos took the lead during doubles action, taking wins on courts one and three. On court 3, duo Luka Mrsic and Conrad Brown claimed UCSB's first point, beating USU 6-2. The nation's No. 43 pair, Kai Brady and Phillip Jordan, battled it out on court one, taking the win, 7-6, after an exciting tie-breaker. UCSB's doubles success put them ahead 1-0.
Santa Barbara kept a hold of their edge in singles play with wins on courts one and six in the early stages. Kai Brady was swift in knocking out his opponent on court 6, dropping only a single game during the two sets. On court one, Phillip Jordan tallied another point, also defeating his opponent in straight sets. Despite losses on court three and five, the Gauchos still persevered to secure their win at home. Luka Mrsic took the crucial victory on court four to clinch the match for UCSB.
RESULTS
Doubles
1. #43 Jordan/Brady (UCSB) def. Cierny/Zarkovic (USU) 7-6
2. Paardenkooper/Pinheiro (USU) def. Brunkow/Liu (UCSB) 6-3
3. Mrsic/Brown (UCSB) def. Ruiz/Savin (USU) 6-2
Order of finish: 3, 2, 1
Singles
1. Phillip Jordan (UCSB) def. David Cierny (USU) 6-2, 6-4
2. Gianluca Brunkow (UCSB) vs. Bodin Zarkovic (USU) 7-6 , 2-5, unfinished
3. Stijin Paardkooper (USU) def. Lucca Liu (UCSB) 2-6, 4-6
4. Luka Mrsic (UCSB) def. Roko Savin (USU) 6-4, 6-3
5. Nuno Pinheiro (USU) def. Conrad Brown (UCSB) 6-7, 2-6
6. Kai Brady (UCSB) def. Javier Ruiz 6-0, 6-1
Order of finish: 6, 3, 1, 5, 4
UP NEXT
The Gauchos will continue with this four-match homestand next week, welcoming Yale to the Arnhold Tennis Center on Wednesday, March 15 at 3 p.m.
--
This article was contributed by Sydney Goldflam, a writing intern for UC Santa Barbara Athletic Communications.
