SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The No. 1-seeded UC Santa Barbara Men's Tennis team secured its place in the Big West Championship final with a 4-2 victory over UC Davis Friday afternoon at the Barnes Tennis Center.

THE MATCH
Final: #36 UC Santa Barbara 4, UC Davis 2
Records: #36 UC Santa Barbara (17-7, 5-1 Big West), UC Davis (11-13, 2-4 Big West)

HOW IT HAPPENED
UC Santa Barbara came out sharp in doubles, securing the opening point behind wins on courts one and three. The No. 1 pair of Miguel Avendano and Lucca Liu set the tone with a commanding 6-2 victory, while Lorenzo Brunkow and Diogo Morais followed with a 6-4 win on court three to give the Gauchos an early 1-0 advantage.

UC Davis responded in singles, taking courts four and two to swing the momentum and move ahead 2-1. The Gauchos, however, remained composed and leaned on their depth to respond.

Charlie Underwood delivered a steady performance at No. 5, earning a 6-2, 6-4 win to even the match at 2-2 and spark the comeback. Moments later, Diogo Morais battled through a tightly contested second set to secure a 6-3, 7-5 victory on court three, giving UC Santa Barbara a 3-2 lead.

With the match hanging in the balance, all attention turned to the top court, where No. 110 Lucca Liu showcased resilience. After dropping the opening set, Liu settled in and dictated play down the stretch, taking the next two sets 6-3, 6-4 to clinch the semifinal victory and send the Gauchos to the championship match.

Karel Fromel was also in the midst of a strong performance on court six, holding the advantage in the third set before his match went unfinished.

RESULTS
Doubles
1. #65 Miguel Avendano/Lucca Liu (UCSB) def. Dylan Paterson/Ivan Savkin (UCD) 6-2
2. Lucas Bollinger/Kurt Miller (UCD) def. Conrad Brown/Dominique Rolland (UCSB) 6-3
3. Lorenzo Brunkow/Diogo Morais (UCSB) def. Perry DiGiulio/Kaveh Taheri (UCD) 6-4

Order of finish: 1, 2, 3

Singles
1. #110 Lucca Liu (UCSB) def. Lucas Bollinger (UCD) 2-6, 6-3, 6-4
2. Kaveh Taheri (UCD) def. #64 Dominique Rolland (UCSB) 6-2, 7-5
3. Diogo Morais (UCSB) def. Perry DiGiulio (UCD) 6-3, 7-5
4. Ivan Savkin (UCD) def. Miguel Avendano (UCSB) 6-2, 6-1
5. Charlie Underwood (UCSB) def. Eduardo Gonzalez (UCD) 6-2, 6-4
6. Karel Fromel (UCSB) vs. Nadaul Cheam (UCD), unfinished

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

UP NEXT
The Blue and Gold move on to the Big West Championship final, where the Gauchos will take on No. 2-seeded UC Irvine tomorrow, Apr. 25 at 10 a.m., with their sights set on the championship title.