SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The No. 32 UC Santa Barbara Men's Tennis team closed out its nonconference schedule with a 4-2 win over No. 49 Harvard on Sunday afternoon before opening Big West play.

THE MATCH
Final: #32 UC Santa Barbara 4, #49 Harvard 3
Records: #32 UC Santa Barbara (11-5), #49 Harvard (10-8)

HOW IT HAPPENED
Harvard claimed the early 1-0 advantage by taking two of the three doubles matches. Lorenzo Brunkow and Diogo Morais put UCSB on the board with a 6-4 win on court three over James MacDonald and Masato Perera. The Crimson answered on court one, where the pair of Benjamin Privara and Nathan Blokhin defeated No. 35 Miguel Avendano and Lucca Liu 6-4 to even doubles play. Harvard then secured the point on court two as Rohan Murali and Kolos Kincses edged Conrad Brown and Dominique Rolland 7-5 in the deciding match.

The Gauchos didn't waver, responding in singles by winning four hard-fought matches to secure the team victory. The top of the lineup set the tone, as No. 44 Rolland put UCSB on the board with a convincing 6-4, 6-1 win over Melchior Delloye at No. 2. Shortly after, No. 107 Liu delivered another key point with an impressive 6-1, 6-4 victory over No. 84 Murali at the top spot to give UCSB the lead.

UCSB continued to build momentum as Carson Lee earned a decisive 6-4, 6-1 win over Mitchell Lee at No. 6. After Harvard picked up its second point with Privara's three-set win over Morais, 6-3, 1-6, 7-5, at No. 3, Charlie Underwood sealed the match for the Gauchos with a gritty three-set victory over Perera, 6-2, 5-7, 6-3.

The No. 4 singles match between Avendano and Blokhin was left unfinished with Blokhin leading 5-4 in the third set. With the win, UCSB earns a ranked victory and shows resilience by bouncing back after doubles to take control in singles play.


RESULTS
Doubles
1. Benjamin Privara/Nathan Blokhin (Harvard) def. #35 Miguel Avendano/Lucca Liu (UCSB) 6-4
2. Rohan Murali/Kolos Kincses (Harvard) def. Conrad Brown/Dominique Rolland (UCSB) 7-5
3. Lorenzo Brunkow/Diogo Morais (UCSB) def. James MacDonald/Masato Perera (Harvard) 6-4

Order of finish: 3, 1, 2

Singles
1. #107 Lucca Liu (UCSB) def. #84 Rohan Murali (Harvard) 6-1, 6-4
2. #44 Dominique Rolland (UCSB) def. Melchior Delloye (Harvard) 6-4, 6-1
3. #112 Benjamin Privara (Harvard) def. Diogo Morais (UCSB) 6-3, 1-6, 7-5
4. Miguel Avendano (UCSB) vs. Nathan Blokhin (Harvard) 4-6, 6-3, 4-5, unfinished
5. Charlie Underwood (UCSB) def. Masato Perera (Harvard) 6-2, 5-7, 6-3
6. Carson Lee (UCSB) def. Mitchell Lee (Harvard) 6-4, 6-1

Order of finish: 2, 1, 6, 3, 5

UP NEXT
The Blue and Gold are set to face their first Big West opponent, Hawai'i, on the road at the UH Tennis Complex on March 26 at 1 p.m. (PT).