April 17, 2008

Salt Lake City, Utah - The UC Santa Barbara men's tennis team opened their four-game road trip handedly spoiling Utah State's senior day this Thursday afternoon to boost its overall record to 12-7 on the season.

Upon senior Anders Dalskov's return from knee injury, the Gauchos swept the reeling Aggies in doubles competition. At the No. 3 slot, Dalskov and partner Jack Hui topped Asplund Gallegos, 8-3, while Alexander Konigsfeldt and Josh Finkelstein squeezed out a win at the No. 2 position, 8-6, to insure a 1-0 lead.

UCSB continued to roll in singles play, forcefully defeated three Aggies in two sets. The first two wins came at the No. 4 and No. 5 positions where Max Taylor and Josh Finkelstein registered victories over Tyden and Searle respectively. The Gauchos finally sealed the win at the No. 3 slot where Konigsfeldt battled past Gallegos to post a 6-4, 6-0 win.

Taylor Chavez Goggin, a fourth-time starter this year, got the node at the No. 6 slot adding to the Gaucho triumph with a 5-7, 6-4, 1-0 (10-4) come from behind victory. However, the sweep was cut short by Oscar Ericsson after he defeated Bijan Hejazi at the No. 2 spot, 6-3, 6-4.

The UCSB men will hopefully have enough in their tank to battle three more teams this weekend, two of which are ranked. Friday, at 1:30 PT, the Gauchos will clash with No. 64 Utah on its home court and then head to Brovo, Utah to take on the struggling BYU men's tennis team at noon PT.

Doubles
No. 1 Therp/Hejazi def. Asplund/Galegos, 8-5
No. 2 Konigsfeldt/Finkelstein def. Tyden/Ericsson, 8-6
No. 3 Hui/Dalskov def. Braithwaite/Thatcher, 8-3

Singles
No. 1 Philip Therp def. Asplund 4-6, 7-6, 1-0 (12-10)
No. 2 Ericsson def. Hejazi 6-3, 6-4
No. 3 Konigsfeldt def. Gallegos 6-4, 6-0
No. 4 Taylor def. Tyden 6-3, 6-2
No. 5 Finkelstein def. Searle 6-1, 6-1
No. 6 Taylor Chavez Goggin def. Braithwaite 5-7, 6-4, 1-0 (10-4)