TEMPE, Ariz. – The No. 31 UC Santa Barbara Men's Tennis team bounced back with a strong performance, defeating No. 51 Liberty 4-1 to close out the ASU Diablos Collegiate Invitational.
THE MATCH
Final: #31 UC Santa Barbara 4, #51 Liberty 1
Records: #31 UC Santa Barbara (8-5), #51 Liberty (5-7)
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Blue and Gold opened the match by capturing the doubles point with wins on courts one and three. No. 84
Miguel Avendano and
Lucca Liu set the tone with a 6-4 victory at the top position over David Ekpenyong and Benjamin Sparks, while
Lorenzo Brunkow and
Diogo Morais secured the point with another 6-4 win against Chase Robinson and Siwanat Auytayakul.
In singles competition, UC Santa Barbara extended its lead as Avendano delivered a steady 6-3, 6-3 win over Carl Roothman at No. 3 singles. Liberty responded shortly after with a victory on court four, where Sparks defeated
Charlie Underwood in straight sets.
The Gauchos answered decisively at the top of the lineup.
Dominique Rolland overcame a tightly contested first set before cruising to a 7-6, 6-2 victory at No. 1 singles, putting UCSB within reach of the match win.
Conrad Brown ultimately clinched the contest on court five, battling through three sets to defeat Ekpenyong 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 and secure the 4-1 decision.
Play was stopped on courts two and six following the clinch, with both Gauchos leading in their respective unfinished sets.
RESULTS
Doubles
1.
Miguel Avendano/
Lucca Liu (UCSB) def. David Ekpenyong/Benjamin Sparks (LIBERTY) 6-4
2.
Conrad Brown/
Dominique Rolland (UCSB) vs. Guy Vorwerk/R Santiago Arraez (LIBERTY) (UCSB) 5-4, unfinished
3.
Lorenzo Brunkow/
Diogo Morais (UCSB) def. Chase Robinson/Siwanat Auytayakul (LIBERTY) 6-4
Order of finish: 1, 3
Singles
1.
Dominique Rolland (UCSB) def. Siwanat Auytayakul (LIBERTY) 7-6, 6-2
2.
Diogo Morais (UCSB) vs. R Santiago Arraez (LIBERTY) 7-5, 3-6, 3-0, unfinished
3.
Miguel Avendano (UCSB) def. Carl Roothman (LIBERTY) 6-3, 6-3
4. Benjamin Sparks (LIBERTY) def.
Charlie Underwood (UCSB) 6-1, 7-6 (7-5)
5.
Conrad Brown (UCSB) def. David Ekpenyong (LIBERTY) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
6.
Matei Gavrea (UCSB) vs. Chase Robinson (LIBERTY) 5-7, 5-2, unfinished
Order of finish: 3, 4, 1, 5
