Author: KEYT

Mike Klan

UC SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The Gauchos brought out the brooms for rival Cal Poly.

Both the UCSB men and women’s tennis teams defeated the Mustangs by identical 4-0 scores.

UCSB Women Recap:

The No. 33 UC Santa Barbara Women’s Tennis team secured the Big West Regular-Season title in full on Saturday afternoon at the Arnhold Tennis Center. The Gauchos battled for a 4-0 sweep to defeat the Mustangs, earning the No. 1 seed in The Big West Championships.

THE MATCHFinal: No. 33 UC Santa Barbara 4, No. 51 Cal Poly 0Records: No. 33 UC Santa Barbara (14-8, 9-0 Big West), No. 51 Cal Poly (18-4, 7-2 Big West)

HOW IT HAPPENEDThe Gauchos got a strong start in doubles with all three courts taking an early lead. On court two, Lucy Lu and Lily Pradkin fought off a Mustang comeback to earn a 6-4 win. Court three followed with Marie Weissheim and Raphaelle Leroux defeating Cal Poly in similar 6-4 fashion to clinch the first point for the Gauchos.

The Blue and Gold kicked off singles with two more quick points. On court four, Raphaelle Leroux took an impressive 6-1, 6-2 victory. Amelia Honer followed with a dominant 6-3, 6-3 win on her senior day. Continuing the senior day success, Tyra Richardson answered the call for the Gauchos’ fourth and final point. She went game-for-game on court three in the second set to come away with a 6-3, 7-5 win, securing the sweep for the Gauchos.

Three Gauchos were in third set battles that were left unfinished as Santa Barbara clinched the win. Marie Weissheim was tied 2-2 in the third set after Cal Poly battled back in the second. Ali Benedetto forced a third set on court five where she trailed 3-2. On court six, Katarina Vayser started strong with a 6-4 first set but was behind 4-3 in the third when the match was left unfinished.

RESULTSDoubles

Amelia Honer/Ali Benedetto (UCSB-W) vs. Romane Mosse/Kennedy Buntrock (CP) 5-5, unfinished

Lucy Lu/Lily Pradkin (UCSB-W) def. Peyton Dunkle/Amy Leather (CP) 6-4

Anna Weissheim/Raphaelle Leroux (UCSB-W) def. Jessica MacCallum/Natalie Lynch (CP) 6-4

Order of finish: 2,3

Singles

#12 Amelia Honer (UCSB-W) def. Kennedy Buntrock (CP) 6-3, 6-3

Anna Weissheim (UCSB-W) vs. Peyton Dunkle (CP) 6-4, 4-6, 2-2, unfinished

Tyra Richardson (UCSB-W) def. Romane Mosse (CP) 6-3, 7-5

Raphaelle Leroux (UCSB-W) def. Alexandra Ozerets (CP) 6-1, 6-2

Ali Benedetto (UCSB-W) vs. Jessica MacCallum (CP) 3-6, 6-3, 2-3, unfinished

Katarina Vayser (UCSB-W) vs. Natalie Lynch (CP) 6-4, 1-6, 3-4, unfinished

Order of finish: 4,1,3

UP NEXTAs the No. 1 seed in The Big West Championships, the Gauchos will have a week to prepare for their semifinal match on Saturday, April 26 at 1 p.m. at the Barnes Tennis Center in San Diego.

UCSB Men Recap:

The No. 34 UC Santa Barbara Men’s Tennis team secured the Regular Season Conference Championship and the No. 1 seed in The Big West Championships with a 4-0 win over Cal Poly on Saturday afternoon at the Arnhold Tennis Center.

THE MATCHFinal: No. 34 UC Santa Barbara 4, Cal Poly 0Records: No. 34 UC Santa Barbara (17-3, 6-0 Big West), Cal Poly (8-14, 2-4 Big West)

HOW IT HAPPENEDThe Gauchos got on the board early with quick success in doubles. Lucca Liu and Diogo Morais took a swift 6-1 victory on court two. Gianluca Brunkow, on his senior day, took a dominant 6-2 win with Dominique Rolland on court one to clinch the doubles point.

In singles, Lucca Liu continued the Gauchos’ success with a 6-4, 6-1 win. Dominique Rolland would pull Santa Barbara within one point of the win with a straight-set win of his own, 6-2, 6-3. Shortly thereafter, the sweep would be complete as Diogo Morais got the fourth point with a 6-4, 6-4 performance.

There were three courts left unfinished as the Blue and Gold took the win. On court one, Gianluca Brunkow took the first set, 6-4, and was trailing 5-3 in the second. Matei Gavrea was only one game away from a win on court five with a strong 7-5, 5-1 performance. On court six, Sam Rappaport made his singles debut for this season and left his match unfinished just behind by one game in the second set.

RESULTSDoubles

#57 Gianluca Brunkow/Dominique Rolland (UCSB-M) def. Bastiaan Weststrate/Raz Haviv (CP) 6-2

Lucca Liu/Diogo Morais (UCSB-M) def. Sean Kamyshev/John Cross (CP) 6-1

Sam Rappaport/Matei Gavrea (UCSB-M) vs. Aaron Eliscu/Wian Roothman (CP) 4-3, unfinished

Order of finish: 2,1

Singles

#60 Gianluca Brunkow (UCSB-M) vs. Raz Haviv (CP) 6-4, 3-5, unfinished

Lucca Liu (UCSB-M) def. Bastiaan Weststrate (CP) 6-4, 6-1

Dominique Rolland (UCSB-M) def. John Cross (CP) 6-2, 6-3

#112 Diogo Morais (UCSB-M) def. Sean Kamyshev (CP) 6-4, 6-4

Matei Gavrea (UCSB-M) vs. Jack McGary (CP) 7-5, 5-1, unfinished

Sam Rappaport (UCSB-M) vs. Aaron Eliscu (CP) 5-7, 3-4, unfinished

Order of finish: 2,3,4

UP NEXTWith the No. 1 seed in hand, the Gauchos will await Saturday’s semifinal matchup, facing either the No. 4 or 5 seed from the quarterfinal round of the Big West Championships. The match is set for 10 a.m. at the Barnes Tennis Center in San Diego.

(Article courtesy UCSB Athletics)

Mike Klan

UC SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Jackson Flora fired a complete game 1-hit shutout as UCSB won 4-0 to take this Blue-Green rivalry series 2-1.

It’s the first Big West series loss on the year for Cal Poly who fell out of first place behind UC Irvine.

The only hit Flora allowed was a single to Nate Castellon to leadoff the fifth inning.

He actually pitched out of a bases-loaded, one out jam in the top of the fourth inning.

A hit batter, an error and a walk had the Mustangs threatening but Flora struck out Casey Murray Jr. and got a comebacker from Cam Hoiland to end the inning.

“Obviously Jackson Flora was special today,” UCSB head coach Andrew Checketts said. “That’s elite, elite stuff, elite command, elite composure. He had that bases-loaded situation that he got out of, he had the runner at third with less than two that he got out of, so we can see him growing and maturing and improving. (He) had some really good outings early in the year, wasn’t great the middle and even missed a start, and his last four outings have been really good and consistent. Obviously, that was really good. He carried the team on his back today.”

The sophomore Flora struck out 9 batters as UCSB improved to 26-12 on the year and 12-9 in league.

Nate Vargas drove in three runs with a sacrifice fly in the first inning and a 2-run homer in the third to finish off the scoring.

Cal Poly is now 15-3 in the Big West and will host Irvine in a 3-game showdown next weekend Friday-Sunday.

The Gauchos host nonleague opponent Cal Baptist this Monday with first pitch at 4:35pm.

Andie Lopez Bornet

GOLETA, Calif. – “We have a pizza box, an old blanket that was in a storm drain, a few beer bottles, a number of doggy poop bags,” said Brooke Armstrong, a volunteer at the annual Beautify Goleta Earth Day event.

To beautify the City of Goleta, the city held its 3rd annual Beautify Goleta Earth day event on Saturday.

“Last year we got over 50,000 pounds of trash and we had close to 40 cleanups with over 400 volunteers throughout the year so building a good community,” said Ryan Wong, Co-founder of Tidy Seas.

People of all ages gathered at Evergreen Park in Goleta early Saturday morning to help gather trash and hear from different organizations about living a more eco-friendly lifestyle, as well lending a hand in making Goleta a beautiful and clean place. 

“It brings out the inner treasure hunt in them,” said Wong. “But having the Kids learn at a young age, it’s cool to see after if they come to another cleanup. The parents are like ‘now everywhere I walk my kid wants to pick up trash and you know we can’t leave that there.’”

The event wouldn’t have been possible without the help of its volunteers and informational tables showing up to help and share. Elubias Kitchen was also at the event.

“It’s great that the city organizes these events just to keep things environmentally clean,” said volunteer Brooke Armstrong, who is also part of Rotary Club of Goleta.

We asked Armstrong about what he thinks should be done to help keep Goleta a clean place.

“Just be mindful.” said Armstrong. “You know, when I go out for a walk and I see a stray poop bag that’s good karma just to pick it up on your route and deposit it where it needs to be.”

Fun activities were available for kids like getting the chance to touch a truck from MarBorg.

Earth day is Tuesday April 22, 2025.

Caleb Nguyen

OXNARD, Calif. – A 37-year-old drunk driver caused a multi-car crash after trying to U-turn from driving the wrong way on Highway 101 in Oxnard just past 9:00 a.m. Friday, according to the Ventura CHP.

The drunk driver realized she drove northbound in her Chevy when a semi-truck hit her during her attempted U-turn, according to the Ventura CHP. The 60-year-old male semi-truck driver was uninjured from the crash.

The Chevy stopped in the middle of the road when a Ford slowed down to avoid it. A Jeep then rear-ended the Ford, detailed the Ventura CHP.

The 38-year-old Ventura woman driving the Ford suffered minor injuries and the 33-year-old Oxnard woman driving the Jeep suffered moderate injuries, requiring transport to St. John’s Hospital.

Traffic was shut down on the northbound side of the 101 for about an hour and reopened at 10:15 a.m. following clean up, according to the Ventura CHP.

The drunk driver declined medical aid at the scene and was arrested on DUI suspicion. This investigation remains ongoing and those with information should contact the Ventura CHP.

Mike Klan

UC SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The No. 18 UC Santa Barbara Men’s Volleyball team (11-15, 2-7 Big West) hosted No. 3 Hawai’i (24-4, 7-2 Big West) on Friday night in the Thunderdome, the first of two matches in consecutive nights to close out the regular season. Despite Cole Schobel’s career-high 16 digs and the Gauchos (.267) out-hitting the Rainbow Warriors (.248), the visitors won in four sets—25-22, 19-25, 25-22, 25-20.

HOW IT HAPPENEDHawai’i was without two of their starting pin hitters—Kristian Titriyski and Louis Sakanoko—but that did not stymie their offense early on. The first set flowed strongly back and forth, with Hawai’i having three 3-0 runs and Cole Schobel serving an ace in a 3-0 serving run to make the score 15-13 Rainbow Warriors into the media timeout. Shortly after, the Gauchos again rallied for three in a row, including back-to-back Owen Birg-Ethan Saint double blocks to take an 18-17 lead. Former Rainbow Warrior Jack Walmer entered the match and promptly served an ace, giving the Gauchos a 21-19 advantage. However, Hawai’i would win six of the next seven points to win the set 25-22. They hit .448 (16-3-29) in the set, their best of the match by far.

In set two, the Gauchos responded immediately, taking control from very beginning. George Bruening had four kills in the team’s first six points, and it was 10-4 Santa Barbara thanks in part to separate 4-0 and 3-0 runs. A bit later, Josh Aruya served an ace as part of another 4-0 run to increase the lead to 18-8. A Hawai’i service error made it 23-12, and it looked like the Gauchos would coast to victory. Not so fast, as the Rainbow Warriors rattled off five in a row as part of a 7-1 run before an Aruya kill ended the set with a respectable 25-19 scoreline.

Now tied at one set apiece, Hawai’i used that momentum from late in the second set to begin the third, jumping out to a 6-0 advantage thanks in part to two aces from setter Tread Rosenthal. UC Santa Barbara bounced back, though, to halve the deficit to 6-3. From there, the teams settled in, trading points until a Saint kill and block on consecutive points made it 15-13 Hawai’i. The Gauchos completed the comeback, getting to 17-17, before a huge Birg-Bruening block gave them their first lead at 22-21. Unfortunately for the hosts, similar to the first set, the Rainbow Warriors took the next four points to win the set 25-22.

In the fourth, the Gauchos used an early 4-0 run to take a 6-3 lead. The teams played the sideout game to 11-9 before Hawai’i completely flipped the score with a 7-0 run, Kainoa Wade’s serving causing problems for Santa Barbara. Now trailing 15-11, Bruening’s 17th kill of the night kept the deficit at 17-14 before a Rainbow Warrior ace capped a 3-0 run, making it 20-14. From there, the Gauchos could only get as close as four before succumbing 25-20, ending the match.

BY THE NUMBERSCole Schobel was stalwart defensively, his 16 digs smashing his previous career-high of 12 in the five-setter earlier this year at Cal Lutheran. The setter also had three block assists and an even 40 assists (10 per set).Freshman George Bruening led all players on the floor with 19 kills, also contributing three blocks and five digs. Fellow freshman pin Ethan Saint had a well-rounded night, earning 10 kills—his second career double-digit kill performance—with five total blocks and eight digs.The Gauchos’ middle blockers were solid. Josh Aruya hit .727 (8-0-11) with three blocks and an ace, and Owen Birg hit .500 (5-1-8) with a team-leading six block assists.Statistically, the teams were remarkable competitive. Both had 50 kills, the Rainbow Warriors doing so on 117 swings versus the Gauchos’ 116. Hawai’i had 10 blocks, 46 assists, and 35 digs compared to the Gauchos’ 11, 49, and 38, respectively. As mentioned, Santa Barbara actually had a higher hitting percentage on the night—.267 to .248—despite being on the losing side of the four-set match.

UP NEXTThe teams run it back for one last match of the regular season tomorrow (Saturday) night. Thus, the Gauchos will honor their seven seniors pre-match for Senior Night in the Thunderdome, scheduled for 7 p.m. Fans not attending can stream the match on ESPN+, listen live on ESPN Honolulu, and follow along with live stats at ucsbgauchos.com/MVBLiveStats.

(Article courtesy of UCSB Athletics)

Mike Klan

UC SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara Baseball team (25-12, 11-9 Big West) was on the big stage Friday night, and the Gauchos put on a show, taking down the Cal Poly (27-10, 15-2) Mustangs, 5-4 in front of a sellout crowd at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium and for a national TV audience, with the game being broadcast on ESPNU. The heart of Santa Barbara’s order provided the runs, with hitters three through six in the Gaucho lineup all recording RBIs. On the mound, AJ Krodel provided a show-stopping long relief outing, striking out seven Mustangs in 4 2/3 innings to earn the win.

FROM HEAD COACH ANDREW CHECKETTS”Fantastic effort by AJ (Krodel),” Checketts said. He’s fully capable of doing that, he’s had some bright moments but we’ve been waiting for that, so that was a big moment for him; hopefully that’s a momentum changer for his season.”

“Nice job offensively to get on base, and a couple two-out knocks there to get us the extra cushion.”

HOW IT HAPPENEDGaucho starter Calvin Proskey got off to a smooth start with a groundout and strikeout to start the first, but an error quickly put bumps in his road, with the sophomore having to throw 20 extra pitches and giving up an unearned run on an RBI single by Jack Collins before getting out of the inning. But Proskey settled down with a more comfortable second, working around a one-out single and picking up a second strikeout.

To further smooth out Proskey’s day, the Santa Barbara offense gave their starter a run in the bottom of the second, which Mendez and Kosciusko led off with back-to-back doubles to tie the game at one. After Proskey worked around a two-out walk in the top of the third, the Gauchos picked up more runs in the bottom half, doing so without the benefit of a hit. Nolan Farley led off with a walk, Xavier Esquer was hit by a pitch, and Kosciusko picked up an RBI after a dropped fly ball in left allowed Farley to score. A two-out walk to Nate Vargas loaded the bases, and another one to Jack Holman forced home Santa Barbara’s third run, giving them their first multi-score lead of the weekend at 3-1.

Proskey handled his business in the top of the fourth, stranding another two-out walk, but a double and a home run by Alejandro Garza in the top of the fifth tied the game and, after two more singles, ended the starter’s day. Krodel came in in a less-than pleasant spot, with two runners on and just one out. He struck out the first Mustang he faced, but then a wild pitch moved those two runners to second and third, ratcheting the leverage up a notch. Krodel induced a grounder to third, and Esquer made the throw to first in time to end the inning. In his first full inning of work in the top of the sixth, Krodel punched out a pair of hitters then got another groundout to strand a lead-off single.

In the bottom of the sixth, the Gauchos regained their lead with a big, two-out rally. Esquer was hit by a pitch for the second time on the night to get it started, with LeTrey McCollum smacking a single through the right side to put runners on the corners and force a pitching change. Cal Poly brought in the same pitcher who had given up a game-tying triple to Vargas on Thursday, and the Gauchos produced similar results. Kosciusko drove in his second go-ahead run of the night with a single into center field, then Mendez made it 5-3 by punching a line drive between the shortstop and shifted second baseman, both of whom were on the left side of the infield.

Krodel delivered a crucial shut-down inning in the top of the seventh, fanning two more Mustangs, then he went three up, three down again in the top of the eighth, finishing that inning by snagging a hard-hit bouncer right back at him and tossing to first.

The game was Krodel’s to finish, and he struck out the first batter he faced in the top of the ninth before a pinch-hit single, stolen base and another single put a blemish on the righty’s ledger. Still, with the tying run on first but two outs on the board, head coach Andrew Checketts stuck with Krodel. The sophomore delivered, inducing a pop-up that Holman fielded easily on the infield grass to end the game.

BY THE NUMBERSFriday’s win was Krodel’s second of the season, and he did it in remarkably similar fashion to his first. Krodel pitched 4 1/3 innings of relief on opening day, striking out eight and allowing just one run to earn the win against Campbell. On Friday, he pitched 4 2/3 innings, striking out seven while allowing just the one run.The Gauchos handed Cal Poly just its second Big West loss of the season on Friday. The Mustangs had won 12 straight road games. Santa Barbara is the first team to beat the Mustangs in a nine-inning conference game this season, as Hawai’i took 10 innings to do it last Friday.It was standing room only at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium for Friday’s marquee matchup, with an official attendance of 1,121 making Friday the Gauchos’ first sellout of the season. The last time Santa Barbara exceeded Caesar’s standard capacity of 1,000 was also against Cal Poly, back on May 25, 2019, with a crowd of 1,417. The Gauchos saw 1,537 fans in attendance at the 2024 regular-season finale, though that game featured additional seating in the outfield in preparation for the NCAA Santa Barbara Regional, where the Gauchos twice set their record attendance of 2,110.There were also eyes from all over the country on the Gauchos on Friday, as the game was broadcast nationally on ESPNU. Santa Barbara has now won five of their last six nationally televised games over the last three seasons, including all four of their regular-season primetime games.Speaking of streaks, McCollum continued his run of getting on base, extending it to 33 games with a walk and a base hit on Friday night. He scored the game-winning run on Mendez’s RBI single in the sixth.

UP NEXTThe Gauchos’ win sets up a rubber game between them and the Mustangs on Saturday, April 19, with first pitch set for 1:05 p.m. Jackson Flora is set to take the ball for Santa Barbara.

(Article courtesy of UCSB Athletics)

Andie Lopez Bornet

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Many Christians within the Central Coast and around the world attend a church service on Good Friday to pray and reflect on the day Jesus Christ was crucified.

“Friday night we come face to face with such a incredible selfless gift of love and then Sunday morning we celebrate that love like crazy,” said Tommy Schneider,  Calvary Chapel Santa Barbara Senior Pastor.

Churchgoers on Good Friday focus on forgiveness, as well as hope for humanity and the sacrifice that was made on the cross.

“Without that sacrifice for sin then there’s no hope for any of us,” said Rob Laskin, long time Calvary Chapel Santa Barbara church attendee. “And then we look from Friday to easter to when he rose and that gives us the hope of new life.”

The week leading up to Easter is known as holy week which includes Palm Sunday, the Sunday before Easter. For Pastor Schneider, every morning the week leading up to Easter, he prays at Courthouse Sunken Gardens in Santa Barbara along with his brothers in Christ.

Friday night people were gathered at Calvary Chapel Santa Barbara for a special service instead of their normal midweek service.

Pastor Schneider shares how it feels seeing the church sanctuary full of people worshiping.

“I don’t think there’s anything better than seeing the family of God come into a place where they can truly be still and press in and remember something that is so transformative for the soul.”

If you didn’t make it to the Good Friday service, don’t worry you can still make it to the Easter Sunday service this Sunday, April 20 at 10 a.m. at the Santa Barbara Courthouse Sunken Gardens.