SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The No. 20 UC Santa Barbara Men's Tennis team battled No. 9 San Diego in a tightly contested ranked matchup, ultimately falling 4-2 on Saturday afternoon despite strong performances in both doubles and singles play.

THE MATCH
Final: UC Santa Barbara 2, San Diego 4
Records: UC Santa Barbara (6-4), San Diego (7-2)

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Gauchos struck first in doubles behind an impressive showing from the 84-th nationally ranked duo of Miguel Avendano and Lucca Liu. The pair delivered one of the highlight wins of the day, defeating the No. 15-ranked tandem of Adrien Berrut and Lambert Ruland in dominant 6-2 fashion on court one. San Diego responded on the remaining courts, however, as victories at Nos. 2 and 3 doubles secured the point and an early 1-0 lead for the Toreros heading into singles.

UC Santa Barbara answered with resilience in singles competition. No. 34 Dominique Rolland evened the momentum with a composed 6-4, 6-4 straight-set victory over Vincent Marysko in the No. 2 position. Shortly after, Diogo Morais delivered one of the Gauchos' strongest performances of the afternoon, overpowering No. 83 Manvydas Balciunas 7-5, 6-0 on court three to give UCSB a brief advantage in the dual.

San Diego regained control across the remaining courts to close out the match. Stian Klaassen earned a 7-5, 6-1 win over Avendano at No. 4 singles before Neo Niedner defeated Conrad Brown 6-4, 6-4 on court six. The deciding point came on court five, where Adrien Berrut edged Charlie Underwood in a hard-fought three-set battle, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5, clinching the 4-2 victory for the Toreros.

The top singles matchup between No. 107 Lucca Liu and No. 32 Oliver Tarvet remained unfinished in a hard-fought battle, with Liu taking the opening-set tiebreak before play was halted following the match decision.

With the result, No. 9 San Diego improves to 7-2 on the season, while No. 20 UC Santa Barbara moves to 6-4. Despite the setback, the Gauchos demonstrated their depth and competitiveness against another top-10 opponent, continuing to prove their ability to challenge the nation's elite.

RESULTS
Doubles
1. #84 Miguel Avendano/Lucca Liu (UCSB) def. #15 Adrien Berrut/Lambert Ruland (USD) 6-2
2. Stian Klaassen/Manvydas Balciunas (USD) def. Conrad Brown/Dominique Rolland (UCSB) 6-4
3. Vincent Marysko/Oliver Tarvet (USD) def. Diogo Morais/Lorenzo Brunkow (UCSB) 6-4

Order of finish: 1, 2, 3

Singles
1. #107 Lucca Liu (UCSB) vs. #32 Oliver Tarvet (USD) 7-6 (7-4), 5-6, unfinished
2. #34 Dominique Rolland (UCSB) def. Vincent Marysko (USD) 6-4, 6-4
3. Diogo Morais (UCSB) def. #83 Manvydas Balciunas (USD) 7-5, 6-0
4. #98 Stian Klaassen (USD) def. Miguel Avendano (UCSB) 7-5, 6-1
5. Adrien Berrut (USD) def. Charlie Underwood (UCSB) 6-3, 2-6, 7-5
6. Neo Niedner (USD) def. Conrad Brown (UCSB) 6-4, 6-4

Order of finish: 3, 2, 6, 4, 5

UP NEXT
The Gauchos will travel to Tempe, Arizona, for the Diablos Collegiate Invitational from Feb. 27-28, competing in a round-robin format with participating teams including Arizona State, Arizona, Washington, Liberty, Boise State, Michigan State, and Tulane.