LOS ANGELES – The No. 30 San Diego men's tennis program (18-7, 8-1 WCC) powered through a gritty, back-and-forth match to earn a 4-1 win over No. 38 UC Santa Barbara (22-4, 5-1 Big West) and advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday afternoon.

"It's a great day to be a Torero," said head coach Ryan Keckley. "I thought our boys came out and played some inspired doubles that started us off on the right foot. The nerves played a small role but we were able to work through them and focus on us. Our doubles has come along way from where we were in January."

"In singles, there were more breaks than holds to start the match," continued Keckley. "The commotion, the nerves and the moment played its role in the first 20 minutes of singles. Once we calmed down, we focused on ourselves and played our brand of tennis. Four of our six starters have never experienced an NCAA match, so I knew that thought would play a role. I'm proud of this team for what they have accomplished thus far. Tomorrow we will try to play free and believe in ourselves as we face off against a top USC team."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Doubles proved to be the most straight-forward part of the day, as the Toreros cruised to the opening point.
• Stian Klaassen and Oliver Tarvet secured the first break point of the day and cruised to a 6-2 victory.
• Iiro Vasa and Sacchitt Sharrma were next to finish and earned a big victory over the ranked Gaucho's duo, securing the doubles points before third doubles could finish.
• Singles proved to be a slugfest, with seemingly endless swings of momentum in either direction.
• The Gauchos struck first, despite a comeback from Vasa that saw hold an early 4-1 advantage in the second set, to tie the match at 1-1.
• Tarvet would follow it up with a straight set victory to set up a photo finish on the remaining courts.
• Early leads from Klaassen and Sharrma fell away, while Lambert Ruland roared back into his match after dropping the first set.
• Marvin Schaber secured a late second set break to pull away for good, before Ruland completed his comeback from a set down to end the match at 4-1.

 
#30 San Diego 4, #38 UC Santa Barbara 1
 
Doubles
No. 1 – Iiro Vasa/Sacchitt Sharrma (USD) def. #86 Kai Brady/Philip Jordan (UCSB) – 6-4
No. 2 – Oliver Tarvet/Stian Klaassen (USD) def. Conrad Brown/Luka Mrsic (UCSB) – 6-2
No. 3 – Marvin Schaber/Lambert Ruland (USD) vs. Gianluca Brunkow/Pablo Masjuan (UCSB) – 5-4 (UF)
 
Order of Finish: 2, 1
 
Singles
No. 1 – Pablo Masjuan (UCSB) def. #76 Iiro Vasa (USD) – 2-6, 4-6
No. 2 – Oliver Tarvet (USD) def. Philip Jordan (UCSB) – 6-3, 6-2
No. 3 – Sacchitt Sharrma (USD) vs. Luka Mrsic (UCSB) – 6-2, 1-6, 4-4 (UF)
No. 4 – Marvin Schaber (USD) def. Lucca Liu (UCSB) – 7-6 (5), 6-3
No. 5 – Stian Klaassen (USD) vs. Gianluca Brunkow (UCSB) – 6-1, 6-7 (4), 3-2 (UF)
No. 6 – Lambert Ruland (USD) def. Conrad Brown (UCSB) – 4-6, 6-1, 6-4
 
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 4, 6*
 
UP NEXT
The Toreros will matchup with NCAA Regional hosts, No. 10 USC on Saturday at 2 p.m., in the NCAA Tournament second round.