TEMPE, Ariz. – The UC Santa Barbara Men's Tennis team will travel to Tempe to compete in the Diablos Collegiate Invitational, opening play against No. 68 Boise State on Feb. 27 before taking on a second opponent to be determined following the first round the next day. The Gauchos will then return home to host the Seahawks for a mid-week matchup on Mar. 4.
LAST TIME OUT
The Gauchos look to regain their footing after facing a slate of all top-10 schools.
Against No. 9 San Diego, the Blue and Gold opened strong in doubles as the No. 84-ranked duo of
Miguel Avendano and
Lucca Liu earned a dominant win on court one over the No. 15-ranked pair, but the Toreros claimed the doubles point on the remaining courts. UC Santa Barbara answered with singles victories from
Dominique Rolland and
Diogo Morais to briefly take the lead before San Diego secured the remaining matches, including a three-set clincher at No. 5 singles, to seal a 4–2 victory as Liu's ranked matchup went unfinished following the match decision.
ABOUT THE BRONCOS
Filip Soderqvist earned Mountain West Freshman of the Week honors on Feb. 18, securing the first weekly award of his career and Boise State's first of the season. Carson Baker, the only returning Bronco on the 2026 roster with prior All-Mountain West recognition in both singles and doubles, has continued his strong play this year with 16 singles victories and remains undefeated at the No. 4 position.
The Broncos return seven players from last season's squad while adding transfers Stewart Aronson (Clemson) and Avery Talllakson (New Mexico), along with freshman Soderqvist. Leading the program is head coach Luke Shields, who rejoined Boise State in May 2022 as the 11th head coach in school history
ABOUT THE SEAHAWKS
The reigning Coastal Athletic Association champions currently hold a 2–4 record this spring and are still searching for their first road victory heading into their matchup at the Arnhold Tennis Center. Head coach Mait DuBois enters his 19th season with the Seahawks and has earned CAA Coach of the Year honors 11 times.
UNCW most recently suffered a 6-1 loss to No. 8 UCF, another opponent familiar to UC Santa Barbara, with senior Lukas Steffen accounting for the Seahawks' lone point while also earning CAA Player of the Week honors after a 3-0 performance that included the first ranked win of his career. The Seahawks will begin a West Coast road trip with a stop at Oregon before facing the Gauchos on Mar. 4.
