SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – San Diego men's tennis fought off UCSB's comeback attempt on Monday as the Toreros picked up their third win in a row with a 4-3 decision.
USD (6-3), which is in the midst of a season-high winning streak, captured the doubles point and jumped out to a 3-1 lead, but with wins at No. 6 and 4, the Gauchos (5-9) put the match on the result of the No. 3 position between
Joel Gamerov and Alejandro Vedri.
Gamerov overcame a first-set loss and downed Vedri 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 to give the Toreros the road victory and keep his singles record perfect this spring (8-0).
"I am really proud of how Joel handled the moment with all eyes on his court," said USD head coach
Ryan Keckley. "He played some inspired tennis. He thrives in these kinds of situations. He has been a beast for this team this year and today was no different."
The match was a battle between USD and UCSB. Five of the six singles matches went to three sets while the one that did not, No. 5 between
Nico Borter and Wilhelm Saiga, featured a tiebreaker in the first set.
"We were fortunate to walk with a win on the road today," added Keckley. "Every year we play UCSB and every year it's a battle. We leaned heavily on our experienced players to get the job done down the stretch."
For the fourth straight match, USD earned the doubles point thanks to wins by No. 31
Nico Borter and
Gui Osorio and
Marvin Schaber and
David Norfeldt at No. 1 and 3, respectively. The victory by Borter and Osorio improved their record this spring to 4-0.
The Gauchos responded to the Toreros' doubles point by Joseph Guillin taking down
August Holmgren at the No. 1 position 0-6, 6-1, 6-1 to even the score early in singles.
The Toreros answered in their own way by taking the next two points behind a 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 win by Osorio at No. 2 and Borter's 7-6, 6-1 victory at No. 5.
With their backs against the wall, the Gauchos evened the score at 3-3 when Joshua Williams beat Schaber 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 at No. 6 and Joseph Rotheram defeated Norfeldt 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 at No. 4.
With the help of Gamerov's win, the match against UCSB marked the fourth time this season the Toreros played down to the final match in a 4-3 decision. They are 2-2 in such situations.
USD returns to the court and WCC action on Saturday when it plays at Pacific at 11 a.m.
Results (in order of finish)
Doubles
No. 1: #31 Borter/Osorio (USD) def. Guillin/Vedri (UCSB) 6-2
No. 3: Schaber/Norfeldt (USD) def. Soto Dominguez/Williams 6-4
No. 2: Krustev/Rotheram (UCSB) def. Holmgren/Gamerov (USD) 5-5 unfinished
Singles
No. 1: Joseph Guillin (UCSB) def.
August Holmgren (USD) 0-6, 6-1, 6-1
No. 2: Gui Osorio (USD) def. Victor Krustev (UCSB) 3-6, 6-1, 6-1
No. 5: Nico Borter (USD) def. Wilhelm Saiga (UCSB) 7-6, 6-1
No. 6: Joshua Williams (UCSB) def.
Marvin Schaber (USD) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
No. 4: Joseph Rotheram (UCSB) def.
David Norfeldt (USD) 1-6, 6-3, 6-4
No. 3: Joel Gamerov (USD) def. Alejandro Vedri (UCSB) 3-6, 6-3, 6-3
