SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (April 16, 2023) — The UC Santa Barbara Women's Tennis team now has a four-match winning streak after they beat Cal State Fullerton Sunday morning, 4-2. At 6-1 in Big West play, the Gauchos are now one conference win away from first place in The Big West standings.
THE MATCH
Final: UC Santa Barbara 4, Cal State Fullerton 2
Records: UC Santa Barbara 6-12 (6-1 Big West), Cal State Fullerton 13-7 (5-3 Big West)
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Gauchos conquered in doubles, keeping opponents scoreless on the winning courts. Though Fullerton was the first to win on court three, Camille Kiss and Marta Gonzalez Ballbe swept their opponents, 6-0, on court two to level things up. Amelia Honer and Kira Reuter were quick to follow in their teammates footsteps, showing why they are the No. 16 doubles team in the nation and sailing past their opponents, 6-0, on court one.
Kiss was first to find victory in singles play, winning 6-3 and 6-1 on court two. Despite losses on courts four and six, the Gauchos were undeterred. Reuter tallied another point on court three, dominating both sets, 6-1 and 6-2. On court one, No. 52 ranked Honer clinched the win with a 7-5, 6-1 victory. On court five, Marta Gonzalez Ballbe held a lead, 2-1, in the second set when the match ended, having won her first set in a tiebreaker, 7-6.
RESULTS
Doubles
1. #16 Honer/Reuter (UCSB) def. #63 Duffy/Garcia (CSF) 6-0
2. Kiss/Gonzalez (UCSB) def. Olmos/Gevorgyan (CSF) 6-0
3. Yanatovaskaya/Taylor (CSF) def. Han/Khrebtova (UCSB) 6-0
Order of finish: 3, 2, 1
Singles
1. #52 Amelia Honer (UCSB) def. Natalie Duffy (CSF) 6-0, 6-0
2. Camille Kiss (UCSB) def. Zoe Olmos (CSF) 6-3, 6-1
3. Kira Reuter (UCSB) def. Diana Yanatovskaya (UCI) 6-1, 6-2 ,
4. Camila Gevorgyan (CSF) def. Valentina Khrebtova (UCSB) 6-3, 6-3
5. Marta Gonzalez Ballbe (UCSB) vs. Kaytlin Taylor (CSF) 7-6 (7-6), 2-1, unfinished
6. Mariia Nikitash (CSF) def. Solaya Han (UCSB) 6-1, 6-1
Order of finish: 2, 6, 3, 4, 1
UP NEXT
Only two matches remain in the regular season for UCSB, as the Gauchos will play at CSUN at 1 p.m. on Friday, April 21 before returning home for Senior Day and the regular-season finale against Cal Poly on Saturday, April 22. The match against the Mustangs will start at 11 a.m. and — as with all Gaucho home matches — will be free to attend, with a live stream of all six courts available on ucsbgauchos.com.
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This article was contributed by Sydney Goldflam, a writing intern for UC Santa Barbara Athletic Communications.
