SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara Women's Tennis team secured a decisive win over San Diego, highlighted by commanding singles performances and a dramatic comeback victory from Emma Tutoveanu.

THE MATCH
Final: #53 UC Santa Barbara 6, #32 San Diego 1
Records: #53 UC Santa Barbara (7-7), #32 San Diego (5-7)

HOW IT HAPPENED
UC Santa Barbara secured the doubles point with wins on courts one and three to open the match. Shanelle Iaconi and Isabella Wong started strong with a 6-1 victory over Ines Leon and Kristina Nordikyan at No. 1 doubles. San Diego answered on court two as Hannah Read and Anni Moll defeated My-Anh Holmes and Raphaelle Leroux by the same score, 6-1. The deciding doubles match came down to court three, where Caroline Beard and Ekua Youri delivered a 6-3 win over Charlotte Keitel and Vilma Krebs Hyllested to give the Gauchos the early edge.

UC Santa Barbara continued its momentum in singles with several strong performances throughout the lineup. Shachf Liebermann quickly extended the lead with a convincing 6-2, 6-1 win over Keitel at No. 1 singles, and My-Anh Holmes followed with a 6-3, 6-2 victory against Nordikyan on court five. Ekua Youri clinched the match for the Gauchos at No. 2 singles, defeating Krebs Hyllested 6-3, 6-4.

San Diego picked up its lone singles point at the No. 3 spot, where No. 121 Hannah Read edged Isabella Wong 7-6(3), 6-2.

Two of the final matches proved to be tightly contested three-set battles that were decided by 10-point match tiebreaks. Emma Tutoveanu produced a remarkable comeback on court four, rebounding from a 6-1 first-set loss to force a second-set tiebreak before outlasting Gabby Gregg in a dramatic 12-10 match tiebreak. Lily Pradkin also battled through a third-set tiebreak at No. 6 singles, defeating Anni Moll 6-4, 4-6, 10-8 to close out the strong overall showing for the Gauchos.

RESULTS
Doubles
1. Shanelle Iaconi/Isabella Wong (UCSB) def. Ines Leon/Kristina Nordikyan (USD), 6-1
2. Hannah Read/Anni Moll (USD) def. My-Anh Holmes/Raphaelle Leroux (UCSB), 6-1
3. Caroline Beard/Ekua Youri (UCSB) def. Charlotte Keitel/Vilma Krebs Hyllested (USD), 6-3

Order of finish: 1, 2, 3

Singles
1. Shachf Liebermann (UCSB) def. Charlotte Keitel (USD), 6-2, 6-1
2. Ekua Youri (UCSB) def. Vilma Krebs Hyllested (USD), 6-3, 6-4
3. #121 Hannah Read (USD) def. Isabella Wong (UCSB), 7-6(3), 6-2
4. Emma Tutoveanu (UCSB) def. Gabby Gregg (USD), 1-6, 7-6(4), 1-0 (12-10)
5. My-Anh Holmes (UCSB) def. Kristina Nordikyan (USD), 6-3, 6-2
6. Lily Pradkin (UCSB) def. Anni Moll (USD), 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 (10-8)

Order of finish: 1, 5, 2, 3, 4, 6


UP NEXT
The Gauchos now turn their attention to continuing their homestand, where they will host Memphis and No. 10 Cal on Mar. 13-14 at the Arnhold Tennis Center.