SAN DIEGO - The UC Santa Barbara Women's Tennis Team is set for The Big West Championships this week as they head to San Diego for the first match on Thursday, Apr. 25. As the No. 1 overall seed the Gauchos automatically get a first-round bye and advance to the quarterfinal round.
 
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE GAUCHOS
Santa Barbara enters the Big West Championship as the top seed, boasting a perfect 9-0 record in conference play and a 14-7 overall record. The Gauchos ended the regular season with nine straight wins and have secured wins over Kansas, Penn State and SMU when they were previously ranked 32nd in the country.
 
The Gauchos enter the Championship ranked No. 55 in the most recent ITA Team rankings. Amelia Honor slotted in at No. 48 in this week's singles ranks. She continues to impress, securing the Big West Women's Tennis Player of the Week for the second consecutive week and the 11th time in her career. Her and doubles partner Kira Reuter also rank 41st according to the ITA.
 
With the Gauchos winning the regular season championship it is their third regular season title in the last four seasons.
 
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
The Gauchos will face either No. 8 UC Irvine or No. 9 UC Riverside on Thursday, depending on the outcome of the first-round match.
 
Should the Gauchos progress to the semifinals, they'll contend against either No. 4 Long Beach State or No. 5 Cal Poly. Long Beach has a commendable 12-7 overall record and a solid 6-3 conference standing, while Cal State Fullerton enters with a 15-8 season tally and a 5-4 conference record.
 
Should the Gauchos advance to the Championship Match they would face one of four teams, No. 2 seed CSUN, No. 3 seed Hawai'i, No. 6 seed Cal State Fullerton or No. 7 seed UC Davis.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
The Gauchos' first match is scheduled for Thursday, Apr. 25, with the first serve at 9 a.m. For fans unable to attend at Barnes Tennis Center, all matches on courts 7-10 and 16-18 will be live-streamed via web.track.tennis. Live stats for all matches will also be available.