College Tennis News - No. 50 Gauchos Drop Showdown vs. No. 37 Santa Clara

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The No. 50 UCSB men's tennis team was swept by No. 37 Santa Clara on Sunday afternoon at the Recreation Center Courts, 7-0.

The teams battled through some extensively tought sets, but the Gauchos, still fatigued from their tough and epic loss at Cal Poly on Saturday, could not hang on.

At No. 1 singles, Mathieu Forget nearly upset nationally ranked Kyle Dandan. The duo battled for nearly three hours before losing in the third set, 7-5. At No. 6, Ziad Sultan also held a 6-1, 5-2 lead before succumbing to a furious comeback by Eugene Muchynski.

"The level of play today was very high," said UCSB head coach Marty Davis. "The guys showed a lot of heart. I think that, with a few minor improvements, the Gauchos will be winning matches in April."

UCSB will host the University of Nevada on Sunday, March 11 at 11:00 a.m. on the Recreation Center Courts.

No. 37 Santa Clara 7, No. 50 UC Santa Barbara 0

Singles
1. #100 Kyle Dandan def. Mathieu Forget (UCSB) 6-4,4-6,7-5
2. John Lamble def. Benjamin Recknagel (UCSB) 7-6,6-0
3. Nio Vinel def. Mbonisi Ndimande (UCSB) 6-3,3-6,6-1
4. Tom Pham def. Greg Scott (UCSB) 4-6,6-2,6-3
5. Ilya Osintsev def. Axel Bouilin (UCSB) 6-3,4-6,6-3
6. Eugene Muchynski def. Ziad Sultan (UCSB) 1-6,7-5,6-3

Doubles
1. Lamble/Osintsev def. Mathieu Forget/Mbonisi Ndimande (UCSB) 8-6
2. Pham/Dandan def. Alexander Gryaznov/Ziad Sultan (UCSB) 8-4
3. Axel Bouilin/Alex Johnson (UCSB) def. Kamono/Vinel 9-8

Order of finish: Singles (2,6,5,3,4,1)

UCSB SEASON RECORD: 7-6

BIG WEST RECORD: 2-1 a