SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara Men's Tennis team celebrated Senior Day in winning fashion Sunday afternoon at the Arnhold Tennis Center, defeating UC Irvine 4-2 behind a strong doubles point and clutch performances in singles.
THE MATCH
Final: #32 UC Santa Barbara 4, UC Irvine 2
Records: #32 UC Santa Barbara (15-5, 4-0 Big West), UC Irvine (11-7, 3-1 Big West)
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Gauchos opened the match by claiming the doubles point with wins on courts three and one.
Lorenzo Brunkow and senior
Diogo Morais set the tone with a dominant 6-1 victory, followed by the No. 53-ranked duo of
Miguel Avendano and senior
Lucca Liu, who sealed the point with a 6-3 win at the top position.
UC Santa Barbara carried that momentum into singles, building its lead through the middle of the lineup.
Miguel Avendano extended the advantage with a 6-3, 6-4 win on court four, and Morais followed with a 6-4, 6-2 victory at No. 3 to put the Gauchos in control.
UC Irvine responded with wins on courts one and six to cut into the deficit. Hiroki Sakagawa edged No. 87 Liu in a tight 7-6 (7-4), 7-5 match, while Greg Gamal outlasted
Conrad Brown in three sets.
With the match still in reach, senior
Dominique Rolland delivered the clinching point on court two. After dropping the opening set, Rolland rallied to take the next two, securing a 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 victory and the team win for the Gauchos.
Charlie Underwood's match on court five went unfinished, as it was left in the third set.
Following the conclusion of the match, UC Santa Barbara honored its seniors, Rolland, Liu, Morais, and Brown, for their contributions to the program in a special post-match Senior Day ceremony.
RESULTS
Doubles
1. #53
Miguel Avendano/
Lucca Liu (UCSB) def. Rohan Sachdev/Max Fardanesh (UCI) 6-3
2.
Conrad Brown/
Dominique Rolland (UCSB) vs. Hiroki Sakagawa/Tal Goodman (UCI) 4-2, unfinished
3.
Lorenzo Brunkow/
Diogo Morais (UCSB) def. Sohrob Amiryavari/Alex Guajardo (UCI) 6-1
Order of finish: 3, 1
Singles
1. Hiroki Sakagawa (UCI) def. #87
Lucca Liu (UCSB) 7-6 (7-4), 7-5
2. #55
Dominique Rolland (UCSB) def. Max Fardanesh (UCI) 3-6, 6-3, 7-5
3.
Diogo Morais (UCSB) def. Tal Goodman (UCI) 6-4, 6-2
4.
Miguel Avendano (UCSB) def. Sohrob Amiryavari (UCI) 6-3, 6-4
5.
Charlie Underwood (UCSB) vs. Ruining Huang (UCI) 7-5, 6-7 (2-7), 1-4, unfinished
6. Greg Gamal (UCI) def.
Conrad Brown (UCSB) 6-4, 3-6, 6-4
Order of finish: 4, 3, 1, 6, 2
UP NEXT
The Blue and Gold will travel south to face UC Riverside tomorrow at 10 a.m.
