Gauchos get at-large berth into NCAA Tournament in men’s tennis
Mike Klan
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The No. 34 UC Santa Barbara Men’s Tennis team heard its name among those called for the NCAA Men’s Tennis Tournament during the selection show on Monday. Despite coming up just short in The Big West Championship, the Gauchos earned an at-large bid and will battle UCLA in the first round with No. 11-seed Cal as the host.
The Bruins (16-8) meet UC Santa Barbara (18-4) Friday at 10 a.m. PT, with 11th-seeded Cal (18-4) set to play Boise State (21-5) at 1 p.m. PT. The winners will face off Saturday at 1 p.m. PT.
UCLA holds an all-time record of 32-1 against UCSB. The programs most recently met in 2022, when the Bruins recorded a 6-1 victory at Los Angeles Tennis Center. They have met once in the NCAA tournament, with UCLA winning a first-round matchup in 2002 by a 4-0 score.
The Blue and Gold dominated the season with an 18-4 overall record, going undefeated in conference play during the regular season. The Gauchos’ biggest win of the season came over No. 23 Pepperdine with a 4-3 result. At The Big West Championships, Santa Barbara defeated UC San Diego 4-0 in the semifinals, but ultimately dropped the championship match 4-3 to UC Irvine.
The Gauchos’ last NCAA Tournament appearance was in the 2022-23 season after winning The Big West Championship over UC Irvine. Santa Barbara fell to San Diego, 4-1, in the first round of the tournament.
(Both UCSB and UCLA Athletics contributed to this article).