SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – No. 35 UC Santa Barbara saw its nine-match winning streak snapped Friday afternoon, falling 4-3 to Cal Poly in a four-hour battle at the Ronca Tennis Center. The loss marked the Gauchos' only conference defeat of the season, leaving them tied atop the Big West standings with Cal Poly and setting up the possibility of sharing the regular season title.
THE MATCH
Final: #35 UC Santa Barbara 3, Cal Poly 4
Records: #35 UC Santa Barbara (16-6, 5-1 Big West), Cal Poly (14-8, 5-1 Big West)
HOW IT HAPPENED
UC Santa Barbara opened strong in doubles, securing the point with wins on courts one and two. The No. 55 pair of
Miguel Avendano and
Lucca Liu earned a 6-3 victory, followed by
Conrad Brown and
Dominique Rolland, who sealed the early 1-0 lead with a 6-2 win.
Freshman
Karel Fromel extended the advantage early in singles, delivering a key 6-3, 6-3 win on court six to put the Gauchos ahead 2-0.
Cal Poly responded with victories on courts one and four to even the match at 2-2, but
Miguel Avendano answered with a gritty three-set comeback on court three, 4-6, 6-0, 7-5, to restore UC Santa Barbara's lead at 3-2.
With Cal Poly leveling the match at 3-3 with a three-set win on court two, all eyes shifted to court five.
Charlie Underwood worked his way back into the match, taking the second set in a tiebreak to force a decider, but Cal Poly closed it out there, securing the final point in three sets to clinch the 4-3 victory.
RESULTS
Doubles
1. #55
Miguel Avendano/
Lucca Liu (UCSB) def. Jovan Lubbe/Leo Matthysen (CP) 6-3
2.
Conrad Brown/
Dominique Rolland (UCSB) def. Sean Ferguson/Raz Haviv (CP) 6-2
3. Aaron Eliscu/Sean Kamyshev (CP) vs.
Diogo Morais/
Charlie Underwood (UCSB) 5-3, unfinished
Order of finish: 2, 1
Singles
1. Jovan Lubbe (CP) def. #89
Lucca Liu (UCSB) 6-1, 0-6, 6-4
2. Aaron Eliscu (CP) def. #57
Dominique Rolland (UCSB) 5-7, 6-3, 7-5
3.
Miguel Avendano (UCSB) def. Luc Hoeijmans (CP) 4-6, 6-0, 7-5
4. Raz Haviv (CP) def.
Diogo Morais (UCSB) 6-2, 7-5
5. Jack Cross (CP) def.
Charlie Underwood (UCSB) 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 7-5
6.
Karel Fromel (UCSB) def. Sean Ferguson (CP) 6-3, 6-3
Order of finish: 6, 1, 4, 3, 2, 5
UP NEXT
UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly now sit tied at the top of the Big West standings. UC Irvine has the opportunity to join them, as the Anteaters face UC San Diego tomorrow with a chance to create a three-way tie for the regular season title.
The Gauchos will return home to face No. 28 Pepperdine on Apr. 19 at 1 p.m. in their final regular season match before heading to San Diego for the Big West Championships, scheduled for Apr. 22-25.
