Jeff Liang

Gauchos Set to Face Matadors, Host Tritons

4/3/2025 10:00:00 AM

NORTHRIDGE, Calif - The No. 44 UC Santa Barbara Women's Tennis team begins another week of Big West play traveling to CSUN on Friday before hosting UC San Diego at the Arnhold Tennis Center on Sunday.

DETAILS

Match 17

Friday, April 4 | 1 p.m.

No. 44 UC Santa Barbara (8-8) at CSUN (9-7)

Matador Tennis Complex | Northridge, Calif.

Match 18

Sunday, April 6 | 11 a.m.

No. 44 UC Santa Barbara (8-8) vs. UC San Diego (9-7)

Arnhold Tennis Center | Santa Barbara, Calif.

LAST TIME OUT

The Gauchos defeated three Big West opponents last week to continue their undefeated streak in conference play. Following a dominant 7-0 performance against UC Riverside and a ranked win over the Beach, the Gauchos headed to No. 70 Hawai'i where they defeated the Rainbow Wahine 6-1. In singles, four Gauchos won in straight sets as the Blue and Gold picked up their third ranked win of the season.

HISTORY

The Gauchos are 17-5 all-time when facing the Matadors. Santa Barbara came away with a 6-1 win last season at home. CSUN had a strong week of conference play having defeated their last three Big West opponents for a 3-3 conference record.

The Gauchos will look to continue their undefeated all-time record against the Tritons on Saturday. The 6-1 win on UC San Diego's home court last year was the fourth victory for the Gauchos when facing the Tritons. UC San Diego is 4-2 in Big West play having only lost to Fullerton and Hawai'i this season.

FALL RECAP

The Gauchos opened the fall tournament season at the Battle in the Bay where Amelia Honer and Ali Benedetto had a strong start in both doubles and singles. Honer took four straight wins, all in straight sets, to come away with the singles consolation championship title.

The fall season continued at the ITA All-American Championships where Amelia Honer and Marie Weissheim brought home the doubles consolation championship title but still remained in search of their NCAA qualifying spot.

At the Women of Troy Invite, Benedetto and Weissheim made a doubles championship appearance following wins over BYU and Wisconsin. The same weekend, Gauchos found success in Long Beach at the Beach Fall Tennis Tournament. Raphaelle Leroux, in her first tournament for Santa Barbara, won five straight matches to appear in the championship final. The freshman won in straight sets in her first two matches as a Gaucho. Lily Pradkin and Emma Tutoveanu won their first collegiate matches in singles as well. Tyra Richardson kicked off her senior season with three wins on the weekend, all in straight sets.

At the ITA Southwest Regional Championship in San Diego, Honer won in straight sets for six consecutive singles matches to reach the championship where she defeated the 8th ranked player nationally and clinched her spot at Waco.

At the Dennis Rizza Classic, five Gauchos went 2-0 on the weekend in singles. During Friday's singles matches, Marie Weissheim, Raphaelle Leroux and Tyra Richardson each took straight set victories over their opponents from LMU. Leroux and Weissheim took the first Gauchos doubles victory. Pacot and Leroux also took their first win as a pair over Saint Mary's.

At the ITA West Sectional Championships, the last opportunity for the top three doubles to clinch a NCAA Championship spot, Honer and Weissheim took two straight set wins to reach the semifinals. Despite the loss in the semifinal round, they found success in the 3rd place match with a 15-13 win in the tiebreak to qualify as a doubles pair for the NCAA Championships.

ABOUT THE GAUCHOS

Roster | Schedule

Overall Record: 8-8

Big West: 4-0

Home: 3-1

Away: 4-5

Neutral: 1-2

Against Ranked Opponents: 3-4

ITA Ranking: 44th

Streak: W4

ABOUT THE MATADORS

Roster | Schedule

Overall Record: 9-7

Big West: 3-3

Home: 6-2

Away: 2-5

Neutral: 1-0

Against Ranked Opponents: 0-0

ITA Ranking: N/A

Streak: W3

ABOUT THE TRITONS

Roster | Schedule

Overall Record: 9-7

Big West: 4-2

Home: 6-1

Away: 2-5

Neutral: 1-1

Against Ranked Opponents: 1-0

ITA Ranking: N/A

Streak: W2

UP NEXT
The Gauchos will play their last non-conference match of the season against No. 23 Pepperdine on Thursday, April 10. The matchup with the Waves is set for 1 p.m. at the Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center.

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