Santa Barbara, Calif. — The UC Santa Barbara Men's Tennis Team was overcome by visitor No. 64 Rice University on Monday morning and fell 4-3 in a close match.

THE MATCH
Final:  UC Santa Barbara 3, Rice University 4
Records: UC Santa Barbara (6-4), Rice University (8-6)

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Gauchos jumped out to an early lead, dominating in doubles play with a quick 6-1 win on court one, followed by a 6-4 win on court two. Luka Mrsic and Conrad Brown were leading, 5-3, before the point was clinched. 

The Owls answered in singles with straight-set wins on courts four and five, taking the lead 2-1. Gianluca Brunkow and #37 Pablo Masjuan got past their opponents to put Santa Barbara back on top, pushing the score to 3-2. All eyes turned to the two remaining courts to decide the match. On court three, Luka Mrsic was bested by Rice's De la Bassetiere, with the 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 result tying the overall score. Kapasi forced a third set with Conrad Brown on court six. Brown then fell 7-5 in a tense third set tiebreaker that sealed the victory for the Owls.

RESULTS
Doubles
1. #42 Pablo Masjuan/Gianluca Brunkow (UCSB-M) def. Yasha Zemel/Kabeer Kapasi (RICE) 6-1 
2. Kai Brady/Lucca Liu (UCSB-M) def. Trinity Grear/Petro Kuzmenok (RICE) 6-4 
3. Luka Mrsic/Conrad Brown (UCSB-M) vs. A. de la Bassetiere/Eduardo Morais (RICE) 5-3, unfinished

Order of finish: 1, 2

Singles
1. #37 Pablo Masjuan (UCSB-M) def. Yasha Zemel (RICE) 6-3, 6-4 
2. Gianluca Brunkow (UCSB-M) def. Trinity Grear (RICE) 6-3, 6-4 
3. A. de la Bassetiere (RICE) def. Luka Mrsic (UCSB-M) 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 
4. Emir Sendogan (RICE) def. Lucca Liu (UCSB-M) 6-1, 6-2 
5. Petro Kuzmenok (RICE) def. Kai Brady (UCSB-M) 6-2, 6-1 
6. Kabeer Kapasi (RICE) def. Conrad Brown (UCSB-M) 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7-5)

Order of finish: 4, 5, 2, 1, 3, 6

UP NEXT
The UC Santa Barbara Men's Tennis Team returns home tomorrow, Mar. 12, for a matchup with the No. 8 Harvard Crimson. The first serve is set for 11 a.m.