April 27, 2008

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. - The top-seeded UC Santa Barbara men's tennis team wrapped up its third consecutive championship Sunday at Indian Wells Tennis Garden, defeating No. 3 seed Pacific by a 4-0 score.

It was also UCSB's fifth men's tennis championship in the last seven years, and sixth overall. The six titles put the Gauchos in a second place for most all-time by a Big West program.

UC Santa Barbara grabbed the doubles point and a 1-0 lead with wins at the No. 2 and No. 3 spots. Alex Konigsfeldt and Josh Finkelstein rolled to an 8-2 win against David Gonzalez and Austin Kakar at No. 2. Jack Hui and Anders Dalskov clinched the point with their 8-3 triumph at No. 3 over Artem Gramma and Vegerd Veskimagi.

The Gauchos pushed their advantage to 2-0 when Max Taylor defeated Kakar by a 6-1, 6-1 score at No. 6 singles. Philip Therp gave UCSB a 3-0 advantage, toppling Moritz Starke, 7-5, 6-3 at the No. 1 position. Clinching the match for the Gauchos was Hui at No. 3, as the senior fought off Renan Delsin to win 6-3, 7-6 (5)

The win raised the Gauchos record to 15-9 and earned them the Big West's automatic bid to the NCAA Championships. Pacific concluded its season at 11-12.

This year's NCAA Selection show will take place on Tuesday, April 29 on ESPNews between 2:00 and 2:30 p.m (EDT). The 64-team women's field will be announced first, followed by the men's field.

MEN'S FINALS

DOUBLES
1.    Therp/Hejazi (UCSB) vs. Starke/Delsin (PAC) - DNF
2.    Konigsfeldt/Finkelstein (UCSB) def. Gonzalez/Kakar (PAC) - 8-2
3.    Hui/Dalskov (UCSB) def. Gramma/Veskimagi (PAC) - 8-3
Order of finish: 2, 3
SINGLES
1.    Philip Therp (UCSB) def. Moritz Starke (PAC) - 7-5, 6-3
2.    David Gonzalez (PAC) vs. Bijan Hejazi (UCSB) - DNF
3.    Jack Hui (UCSB) def. Renan Delsin (PAC) - 6-3, 7-6 (5)
4.    Artem Gramma (PAC) vs. Alex Konigsfeldt (UCSB) - DNF
5.    Anders Dalskov (UCSB) vs. Vegerd Veskimagi (PAC) - DNF
6.    Max Taylor (UCSB) def. Austin Kakar (PAC) - 6-1, 6-1
Order of finish: 6, 1, 3