SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – San Diego won five-of-six singles matches to earn a 5-2 comeback victory at Santa Barbara in challenging conditions on Sunday.
 
The Toreros (4-2) battled through a two-hour rain delay, 20 mph winds, cold temperatures and a hostile crowd to take down the Gauchos (3-2). USD handed UCSB their first home-court loss since March of 2017.
 
"Hats off to UCSB, they are a very good team," said head coach Ryan Keckley. "We knew it was going to be a battle from start to finish. It was a very gutsy singles performance by the boys to take five of the six singles matches today."
 
Guus Koevermans and David Norfeldt won their sixth consecutive doubles match at No. 3 to start the season, defeating Joseph Guillin and Alex Dominguez, 6-4. However, UCSB won the other two doubles matches to take the doubles point and an early 1-0 lead.
 
"We did not come out ready to play and that's on everyone, including the coaching staff," said Keckley. "After a rain delay and doubting if the match was going to be played or not, we lost the first 10 games during the doubles point. We almost managed to retake the momentum but came up a bit short on court two after leading 4-3. The only positive about the doubles point was it woke us up for singles."
 
The Toreros woke in in a resounding way with Gui Osorio and Joel Gamerov picking up victories against ranked opponents in singles play to help spark the comeback win.
 
Osorio defeated No. 9 Guillin at the No. 2 position, 3-6, 7-5, 6-1. Gamerov provided the match's clinching point by taking down No. 87 Victor Krustev, 7-5, 7-6 (1).
 
Nico Borter, Koevermans and Norfeldt also won each of their singles matches in the fourth, fifth and sixth positions to help secure the victory.
 
"We managed to take four-of-six first sets and recapture the momentum," said Keckley. "Guus got us on the board with a win at five. He competed very well and stayed focused against a great competitor. Joel clinched the match against a very good spot for the Gauchos."
 
"I was really proud of the way we stayed together and competed down the stretch in a tough environment."
 
The Toreros return home for their next match as WCC play resumes against San Francisco on Saturday at 1 p.m.