SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The No. 35 UC Santa Barbara Men's Tennis team saw its 2026 season come to a close Friday afternoon, falling 4-2 to No. 17 San Diego in the opening round of the NCAA Championship at the Hogan Tennis Center.
THE MATCH
Final: #35 UC Santa Barbara 2, #17 San Diego 4
Records: #35 UC Santa Barbara (18-8, 5-1 Big West), #17 San Diego (21-5, 6-1 WCC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
San Diego took the early advantage by claiming the doubles point with wins on courts one and three. The No. 34 pair of Adrien Berrut and Lambert Ruland defeated No. 67
Miguel Avendano and
Lucca Liu 6-2, before Manvydas Balciunas and Vincent Marysko secured a 6-4 win over
Lorenzo Brunkow and
Diogo Morais to give the Toreros a 1-0 lead.
Conrad Brown and
Dominique Rolland were in a tight battle on court two, left unfinished at 4-3.
The Toreros extended their lead in singles with a straight-set win on court six, as Adrien Berrut defeated
Carson Lee 6-1, 6-3 to make it 2-0.
UC Santa Barbara responded with a dominant turnaround on court two, where
Diogo Morais rebounded after dropping the first set to defeat No. 94 Manvydas Balciunas 1-6, 6-1, 6-1 and put the Gauchos on the board. San Diego answered on court one, with No. 19 Oliver Tarvet defeating No. 103
Lucca Liu 6-3, 6-4 to push the score to 3-1.
The Gauchos continued to battle, as
Miguel Avendano delivered a composed three-set victory on court four, rallying past Vincent Marysko 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 to narrow the margin to 3-2. The deciding point came on court five, where Lambert Ruland edged
Charlie Underwood in a tightly contested three-set match, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, to clinch the win for San Diego.
Dominique Rolland was in the midst of a competitive three-set battle on court three, splitting the opening two sets and trailing late in the third when play was halted.
RESULTS
Doubles
1. #34 Adrien Berrut/Lambert Ruland (USD) def. #67
Miguel Avendano/
Lucca Liu (UCSB) 6-2
2. Stian Klaassen/Oliver Tarvet (USD) vs.
Conrad Brown/
Dominique Rolland (UCSB) 4-3, unfinished
3. Manvydas Balciunas/Vincent Marysko (USD) def.
Lorenzo Brunkow/
Diogo Morais (UCSB) 6-4
Order of finish: 1, 3
Singles
1. #19 Oliver Tarvet (USD) def. #103
Lucca Liu (UCSB) 6-3, 6-4
2.
Diogo Morais (UCSB) def. #94 Manvydas Balciunas (USD) 1-6, 6-1, 6-1
3. #71
Dominique Rolland (UCSB) vs. Stian Klaassen (USD) 4-6, 6-4, 2-5, unfinished
4.
Miguel Avendano (UCSB) def. Vincent Marysko (USD) 4-6, 6-2, 6-4
5. Lambert Ruland (USD) def.
Charlie Underwood (UCSB) 6-3, 4-6, 6-4
6. Adrien Berrut (USD) def.
Carson Lee (UCSB) 6-1, 6-3
Order of finish: 6, 2, 1, 4, 5
SEASON NOTES
UC Santa Barbara closes the season with an 18-8 overall record after capturing a share of the Big West regular season title and winning the Big West Championship to earn an NCAA Tournament berth. The Gauchos highlighted their campaign with multiple ranked wins, including a signature victory over a top-10 UCLA team, and continued to establish themselves on the national stage.
