LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara men's tennis team begins ITA Kickoff Weekend on Jan. 23 with a showdown against Pacific. The Gauchos will conclude the trip the next day, facing either No. 10 UCLA or New Mexico.

LAST TIME OUT
The Gauchos head north after getting their first win of the season under their belt, the past match just a taste of the team's resilience. 

After dropping the doubles point, the Blue and Gold stormed back in singles, sweeping all six matches to seize control of the dual. Miguel Avendano and Carson Lee set the tone with dominant straight-set wins, while Lucca Liu and Diogo Morais kept the momentum rolling, with Morais clinching the team victory in a dramatic three-set battle. Dominique Rolland and Charlie Underwood then sealed the sweep in singles competition with gritty comeback wins.

ABOUT THE TIGERS
The Tigers enter the matchup riding the momentum of a season-opening victory over Jessup. With seven returning players, the roster features strong continuity, complemented by the addition of senior Riley Hillenbrand and the return of Terence Das from injury. Rising sophomore Vraj Patel will look to build on last season's standout 11-0 doubles record, already improving to 12-0 with the win over Jessup.

The lineup is further strengthened by the arrival of freshmen Hasith Gummuluru, Zhora Chetverukhin, and Reuben De Klerk, with Gummuluru already making an impact by contributing a singles win in straight sets at the No. 6 spot. Head coach Clifton Awuy begins his first season at the helm after spending the past two years as an assistant, guiding a team that blends experience with emerging talent.

ABOUT THE BRUINS
The No. 10 Bruins opened the 2026 season in dominant fashion, sweeping Big West foe UC Irvine, and are coming off a historic 2025 campaign in which they captured their first-ever Big Ten Conference title on April 27, snapping top-seeded Ohio State's 76-match home winning streak, and advanced to their first NCAA Championship quarterfinal appearance. This 2025-26 season also marks head coach Billy Martin's 33rd year leading the UCLA men's tennis program.

Following the fall season, UCLA features several nationally ranked players, including No. 20 Emon van Loben Sels, No. 53 Rudy Quan, and No. 75 Spencer Johnson in singles, as well as the doubles teams of No. 19 Spencer Johnson/Emon van Loben Sels and No. 47 Rudy Quan/Aadarsh Tripathi. The Bruins have also added Cassius Chinlund, Andy Nguyen, and Bengt Reinhard to the roster for the 2025-26 season. 

ABOUT THE LOBOS
Mirroring the Bruins' strong start, the Lobos opened their spring campaign with a doubleheader sweep of Idaho and Western New Mexico. The defending Mountain West Tournament champions return three players from last year's 16-9 squad that captured the conference title and earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

UNM has bolstered its depth with key additions, including transfers Jakub Prachar from Northern Arizona and Jan Skerbatis from Valdosta State, where he helped lead the Blazers to back-to-back national championships. Nishant Dabas, Alberto Perez, and freshman Carl Labitzke also join the program as newcomers. The Lobos are led by head coach Rob Barefoot, who took over in July 2024 and guided the team to its first conference title in 16 years, and is joined on staff by alumnus Giorgio Samaha, who returned in December.