April 11, 2008

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -

The UC Santa Barbara women's tennis team left it all out on the court this afternoon on senior day, defeating visiting UC Davis by a score of 5-2. The Gauchos swept the doubles point from the Aggies and won four singles matches for their second win in a row. With the victory, UC Santa Barbara is now 9-12 overall, and 4-3 in Big West conference play.

Senior Brittany Kausen and sophomore Tova Hausman started doubles play with an impressive 8-1 vicotry over the Aggie duo of Robin Guier and Emma Shapiro. Senior tandem Charlotte Scatliffe and Marta Simic took the doubles point for the Gauchos, when they overpowered Randi Schuler and Herzyl Legaspi at No. 1 singles. Freshman Jill Damion and sophomore Asagi Onaga finished the sweep for UC Santa Barbara, as they easily handled Anita Athavale and Desiree Stone 8-3.

Charlotte Scatliffe went out in style in her last home match, dominating Emma Shapiro in straight sets 6-1, 6-1 to give the Gauchos an early 2-0 advantage. UC Davis came roaring back to tie the match at 2-2, with wins at No. 2 and No. 3 singles. Hausman quelled the Aggie momentum with a 6-0, 7-5 straight set victory at the No. 4 slot. In perhaps her strongest performance on the year, senior Brittany Kausen secured the Gauchos second consecutive win with a 7-5, 6-2 straight set winner at No. 6 singles.

Although the last match to finish had no bearing on the outcome of the match, it turned out to be the most thrilling. Down 5-2 in the third, senior Marta Simic battled back to tie the match at 6-6. Simic captured the win against Randi Schuler 7-6 in the third, extending the final score to 5-2.

"The day ended like a Hollywood movie script with No. 1 Marta Simic coming back from 2-5 down in the third set and winning her last home match 1-6, 6-1, 7-6," said head coach Pete Kirkwood. "What a day!"

The Gauchos conclude their regular season this Sunday with a match at Central Coast rival Cal Poly. First serve at the Mustang Tennis Complex is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. (PT).

Complete results listed below.

UC Santa Barbara 5, UC Davis 2

Singles
No. 1 Marta Simic (UCSB) def. Randi Schuler (UCD) 1-6, 6-1, 7-6 (2)
No. 2 Desiree Stone (UCD) def. Jill Damion (UCSB) 6-3, 6-3
No. 3 Robyn Guier (UCD) def. Asagi Onaga (UCSB) 6-2, 6-1
No. 4 Tova Hausman (UCSB) def. Herzyl Legaspi (UCD) 6-0, 7-5
No. 5 Charlotte Scatliffe (UCSB) def. Emma Shapiro (UCD) 6-1, 6-1
No. 6 Brittany Kausen (UCSB) def. Sidney Brady (UCD) 7-5, 6-2

Order of finish: 5, 2, 3, 4, 6, 1

Doubles
No. 1 Simic/Scatliffe (UCSB) def. Schuler/Legaspi (UCD) 8-3
No. 2 Damion/Onaga (UCSB) def. Athavale/Stone (UCD) 8-3
No. 3 Hausman/Kausen (UCSB) def. Guier/Shapiro (UCD) 8-1

Order of finish: 3, 1, 2