Feb. 14, 2008

The Schedule

Sunday, February 17, 2008 at 1:00 p.m.
UC Santa Barbara Gauchos vs. Loyola Marymount University
at the Recreation Center Courts

Home Court Advantage
The UC Santa Barbara men's tennis team will bring a 1-2 record into its home opener on Sunday afternoon at the Recreation Center Courts. The Gauchos will play Loyola Marymount University (2-1), which has split its last two decisions. With Santa Barbara coming off of its first victory of the season edging Ball State, 4-3, the Gauchos will try to look for their second straight win. UCSB was slated to have its home opener on Sunday, Jan. 27, against 75th-ranked Santa Clara, but the match was postponed because of rain.

The Opponent
The Loyola Marymount men's tennis team won its own home opener last weekend against visiting Sacramento State University, 5-2. The Lions dominated the Hornets in singles competition, coming away with five of the six matches. After dropping the doubles point, the only other loss for LMU came at the No. 1 singles slot where Kiryl Harbatsiuk of Sacramento State defeated Jacek Twarowski of LMU, 6-4, 1-6, 6-4. Before the Tigers clash with the Gauchos on Sunday, LMU will host 73rd-ranked BYU on Saturday. The Lions were scheduled to play the Cougars at home on January 26th to kick-off the spring season, but rain forced the match to be postponed.

Road Record
The Gauchos have had a tough time on the road capturing only one victory in three contests. The most heartbreaking match came in the season opener, as the University of Hawai'i edged Santa Barbara, 4-3. In their second attempt on the road, the Gauchos could not pull off a single win as the 37th-ranked Washington University swept Santa Barbara. Last week, the Gauchos slipped past Ball State, 4-3, taking home their first win of the season.

Playing for the Gauchos
Sophomore Josh Finkelstein and freshman Alexander Konigsfeldt provided a spark for the Gauchos as they combined for a 4-2 overall singles record to start the season. The two also improved their doubles mark last weekend, defeating Ball State's Joe Vallee and Shaun Bussert, 8-1. While Finkelstein and Konigsfeldt have had success this year, Therp and Hui have been struggling. The duo is 1-2 in doubles play while neither has come up with a victory in singles competition. However, sophomore Bijan Hejazi has been playing well for the Gauchos coming up with his first victory at the No. 1 slot last weekend against Ball State's Jose Perdomo. Hejazi is also 2-1 in doubles competition, pairing with Konigsfeldt and senior Nigel Barton.

To-do List
The Gauchos will play the University of Oregon for their second match of a two game home stand Sunday, Feb. 24 at 1:00 p.m.