SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The No. 49 UC Santa Barbara Women's Tennis team delivered a strong conference performance Wednesday afternoon, defeating No. 64 Long Beach State 6-1 at the Arnhold Tennis Center. With the win, the Gauchos improve to 9-8 overall and move into second place in the Big West standings at 3-0, while handing the Beach their ninth loss of the season.

THE MATCH
Final: #49 UC Santa Barbara 6, #64 Long Beach State 1
Records: #49 UC Santa Barbara (9-8, 3-0 Big West), #64 Long Beach State (11-9, 4-3 Big West)

HOW IT HAPPENED
UC Santa Barbara set the tone early by securing the doubles point with convincing wins on courts two and three. Emma Tutoveanu and My-Anh Holmes were first to finish, cruising to a 6-1 victory over Thea Jagare and Pamela Badillo on court three. 

Shortly after, Caroline Beard and Ekua Youri matched that scoreline with a dominant 6-1 win against Daria Malaescu and Diana De Simone to clinch the point. Long Beach State picked up a 6-2 win on court one, where Cecilia Costa and Paulina Martinessi defeated Isabella Wong and Shanelle Iaconi.

The Gauchos carried that momentum into singles, winning five of six matches to secure the team victory. Lily Pradkin was first off the court, giving UCSB a 2-0 lead with a decisive 6-2, 6-2 win over Badillo at No. 5 singles. Shachf Liebermann followed with an impressive performance at the top spot, battling to a 7-5 first-set win before dominating the second set 6-0 against Big West Player of the Week Costa.

Tutoveanu clinched the match, continuing the Blue and Gold's strong showing with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Jagare at No. 4 singles, while Wong added another point with a solid 6-4, 6-2 win against Martinessi on court three.

Long Beach State earned its lone point at No. 6 singles, where Malaescu defeated Raphaelle Leroux 6-3, 6-4. Youri closed out the match in the final contest of the day, rallying after dropping the first set to defeat De Simone 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 at No. 2 singles.

RESULTS
Doubles
1. Cecilia Costa/Paulina Martinessi (CSULB) def. Isabella Wong/Shanelle Iaconi (UCSB) 6-2
2. Caroline Beard/Ekua Youri (UCSB) def. Daria Malaescu/Diana De Simone (CSULB) 6-1
3. Emma Tutoveanu/My-Anh Holmes (UCSB) def. Thea Jagare/Pamela Badillo (CSULB) 6-1

Order of finish: 3, 1, 2

Singles
1. Shachf Liebermann (UCSB) def. Cecilia Costa (CSULB) 7-5, 6-0
2. Ekua Youri (UCSB) def. Diana De Simone (CSULB) 2-6, 6-2, 6-4
3. Isabella Wong (UCSB) def. Paulina Martinessi (CSULB) 6-4, 6-2
4. Emma Tutoveanu (UCSB) def. Thea Jagare (CSULB) 6-1, 6-3
5. Lily Pradkin (UCSB) def. Pamela Badillo (CSULB) 6-2, 6-2
6. Daria Malaescu (CSULB) def. Raphaelle Leroux (UCSB) 6-3, 6-4

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

UP NEXT
The Gauchos' second-to-last home match will be a Super Six contest against No. 73 Hawai'i on Apr. 4 at 10:30 a.m., featuring free snacks, pizza, and giveaways.