SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The UC Santa Barbara Men's Tennis team is primed for the Big West Championships, heading to San Diego for their opening match on Saturday, April 27. The Gauchos will await the winner of the No. 4 and No. 5 seed to see who they will face.
 
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE GAUCHOS
Santa Barbara enters the Big West Championship as the No. 1 seed, earning a 6-0 record in conference play. In the latest ITA rankings, the Gauchos sit at No. 45.
 
The Gauchos wrapped up their season with an impressive 14-6 record. Throughout the season, Santa Barbara faced off against several ranked opponents, securing notable victories over No. 46 Oregon, No. 35 Florida Atlantic, No. 56 Yale, and No. 58 Nebraska.
 
Pablo Masjuan, ranks No. 72, earned the title of Big West Men's Tennis Player of the Week twice this season and for the fourth time in his career, after a significant ranked win against Cal.
 
Gianluca Brunkow also earned three weekly awards this season after two pivotal wins in Big West matches, contributing to the Gauchos' stronghold atop the rankings.
 
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
The Gauchos will face either No. 4 UC Davis or No. 5 Hawai'i, depending on the outcome of their quarterfinal match on Friday.
 
UC Davis finished with a 12-9 overall season record and a 3-3 conference standing, while Hawai'i holds a 6-14 season record, and went 1-5 in conference play.
 
In another quarterfinal showdown on Saturday, No. 2 UC Irvine will take on either No. 3 Cal Poly or No. 6 UC Riverside. UC Irvine concluded their season with a solid 15-6 season record and a 5-1 conference performance, giving them the No. 2 seeded position.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
The Gauchos' opening Big West Championship match is scheduled for Saturday, Apr. 27, with the first serve at 10 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 track.tennis. Live stats will also be available for the matches.