Santa Barbara, Calif. — The UC Santa Barbara Men's Tennis Team bounced back on Thursday with a 4-2 defeat of the Yale Bulldogs, improving to 7-5 for the season. The victory comes after the Gauchos dropped two ranked matches earlier in the week.
THE MATCH
Final: UC Santa Barbara 4, Yale 2
Records: UC Santa Barbara (7-5), Yale (7-6)
HOW IT HAPPENED
The match kicked off with the doubles point going to Santa Barbara.
Conrad Brown and
Luka Mrsic dominated with a 6-1 win on court three. When
Kai Brady and
Lucca Liu were defeated 6-4 by No. 77 Aidan Reilly and Theo Dean, it was up to the No. 42-ranked doubles pair of
Pablo Masjuan and
Gianluca Brunkow to clinch the point. Tied up at 5-5 on court one, the duo coasted through the remainder of the match to prevail 7-5 over their Ivy League rivals.
Entering singles with the early advantage, the Gauchos extended their lead, picking up another point with Luka Mrisc's straight set win in the fifth position. Yale followed with a 6-4, 6-2 win on court three over
Lucca Liu. At the top of the lineup,
Pablo Masjuan grabbed a 6-3, 7-5 win to put the Gauchos up 3-1. The Bulldogs picked up another point, with Eric Li defeating
Gianluca Brunkow 6-4, 7-5 in a close match. All eyes turned to
Kai Brady in the fourth position. After winning the opening set, the senior took home the day's victory for the Gauchos with a 7-5 decision in the second set.
RESULTS
Doubles
1. #42
Pablo Masjuan/
Gianluca Brunkow (UCSB-M) def. Roee Benya/Vignesh Gogineni (YALE) 7-5
2. #77 Aidan Reilly/Theo Dean (YALE) def.
Kai Brady/
Lucca Liu (UCSB-M) 6-4
3.
Luka Mrsic/
Conrad Brown (UCSB-M) def. Jim Ji/Walker Oberg (YALE) 6-1
Order of finish: 3, 2, 1
Singles
1. #37
Pablo Masjuan (UCSB-M) def. Theo Dean (YALE) 6-3, 7-5
2. Eric Li (YALE) def.
Gianluca Brunkow (UCSB-M) 6-4, 7-5
3. Jim Ji (YALE) def.
Lucca Liu (UCSB-M) 6-4, 6-2
4.
Kai Brady (UCSB-M) def. Aidan Reilly (YALE) 6-3, 7-5
5.
Luka Mrsic (UCSB-M) def. Dylan Tsoi (YALE) 6-2, 6-2
6.
Conrad Brown (UCSB-M) vs. Walker Oberg (YALE) 4-6, 6-3, 2-0, unfinished
Order of finish: 5, 3, 1, 2, 4
UP NEXT
The UC Santa Barbara Men's Tennis Team returns home tomorrow, Friday, Mar. 15, for a match against No. 58 Nebraska. The first serve is set for 1 p.m.