SAN DIEGO - No. 15 seed USD men's tennis had to work a little extra to overcome a 35th-ranked UC Santa Barbara outfit, 4-2, in a first-round match of the 2026 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championship on a beautiful Friday afternoon at the Hogan Tennis Center.
"Credit to the guys, credit to the fans for showing up today on a Friday at 1 p.m. and making it an electric, fun environment to be a part of and hats off to the Gauchos too," 11th-year head coach
Ryan Keckley. "It was a really well-fought match and it came down to the wire and we were fortunate enough to pull through."
Hosting regional action for the second straight season, USD improved to 21-5. The Toreros are West Coast Conference (WCC) double champions as both the regular season and tourney victors. UC Santa Barbara, likewise winners of both The Big West regular season and tournament, saw its 2025-26 campaign ended at 18-8.
Keckley's men started out by taking the doubles point to improve to 22-4 in 2026 in doubles points. The Toreros' No. 1 tandem of
Adrien Berrut and
Lambert Ruland, ranked No. 34 nationally, cruised past the No. 67 Gaucho duo of Miguel Avendano and Lucca Liu, 6-2. USD then clinched the tally through its freshman team of
Manvydas Balciunas and
Vincent Marysko, 6-4, on the No. 3 court over Lorenzo Brunkow and Diogo Morais.
In singles, USD took the first set on all six courts to really jump into the ascendancy. Berrut was first to clinch, making it 2-0 in favor of the home side with a 6-1, 6-3 sweep of Carson Lee.
The Gauchos made significant gains in second sets around the venue, with No. 94 Balciunas, the WCC Freshman of the Year, seeing his match evened up against Morais at No. 2. UCSB would go on to take three more second frames before another match concluded, staying in the tilt still down by a 2-0 count.
The visitors then pulled a point back as Morais stormed back from dropping a quick first set to get past Balciunas, 1-6, 6-1, 6-1, to make it 2-1.
As one might expect out of the three-time WCC Player of the Year, it was 19th-ranked senior
Oliver Tarvet who righted the ship for his squad, rallying from an early second-set deficit to down No. 103 Liu in straights, 6-3, 6-4. Liu went into the net on deuce point to close it out. It marked a 13th consecutive victory in singles for Tarvet, now 19-2 for his final college season.
UCSB would not quit, making it 3-2 on the No. 4 court through an Avendano comeback, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, over Marysko.
It was redshirt junior Ruland who finally clinched the match for USD, outlasting Charlie Underwood at No. 5, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.
USD has now won three straight matches, 12 of the last 13, having swept through the WCC Tournament en route to a third successive title, and boasts a 13-3 home ledger. Friday's contest was played in front of 602 vibrant spectators.
The Toreros have also now won their NCAA first-round match in five straight seasons, twice now over UC Santa Barbara (4-1 in Los Angeles in 2023). They had knocked off the Gauchos on the road earlier this year on Feb. 21, 4-2.
Up Next
USD advances to take on No. 20 UCLA (18-7) out of the Big Ten Conference in Saturday's NCAA second round. Match time is slated for 12 p.m. from the Hogan Tennis Center. The Bruins were 4-0 victors over No. 31 Arizona State earlier Friday.
USD and UCLA have already met once in San Diego this season, with the Bruins edging out a 4-3 decision on Feb. 26 with the contest coming down to a third set on the No. 2 singles court between Marysko and UCLA's Rudy Quan.
Results
#17 San Diego 4, #35 UC Santa Barbara 2
Doubles
1. #34 Adrien Berrut/Lambert Ruland (USD-M) def. #67 Miguel Avendano/Lucca Liu (UCSB) 6-2
2. Stian Klaassen/Oliver Tarvet (USD-M) vs. Conrad Brown/Dominique Rolland (UCSB) 4-3, unfinished
3. Manvydas Balciunas/Vincent Marysko (USD-M) def. Lorenzo Brunkow/Diogo Morais (UCSB) 6-4
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. Stian Klaassen (USD) vs. #71 Dominique Rolland (UCSB) 6-4, 4-6, 5-2, 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
Match Notes:
UC Santa Barbara 18-8, 5-1 Big West; National ranking #35 | San Diego 21-5, 6-1 WCC; National ranking #17
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (6,2,1,4,5)
2026 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championship San Diego Regional - First Round
Time - 3:05; Attendance - 602
