The No. 64 UCSB men’s tennis team needed everyone in its match againt Santa Clara on Thursday at the Tennis Club of Santa Barbara. A second wave of the flu virus swept through the squad, forcing freshman Taylor Chavez Goggin into action and requiring several ailing Gauchos to play.
Goggin was up to the task, partnering with Josh Finkelstein for an 8-3 win at No. 3 doubles and winning at No. 5 singles with the loss of only a game. Pretty impressive debut for the former Santa Barbara High star! Nigel Barton, normally a doubles specialist, was pulled into singles play as well and was equally impressive, posting a win at the No. 6 spot without the loss of a game.
Philip Therp displayed a lot of grit, grinding out a tough win at No. 1 while clearly struggling physically as did Finkelstein at the No. 3 spot. Bijan Hejazi couldn’t continue after the doubles competition and Alex Konigsfeldt couldn’t post at all.
UCSB (9-4) has now won six in a row and remains undefeated at home. The Gauchos host a very strong, No. 48 San Diego State team at 1 p.m. Saturday.
No. 64 UCSB 7, Santa Clara 0
Doubles
No. 1 — Philip Therp / Jack Hui (UCSB) defeated Jay Wong / Kenzo Hirakawa-Wong (Santa Clara) 8-4
No. 2 — Bijan Hejazi / Nigel Barton (UCSB) defeated John Iwanski / Justin Wong (Santa Clara) 8-3
No. 3 — Josh Finkelstein / Taylor Chavez-Goggin (UCSB) defeated Charlie Burke / Senthil Chidambaram (Santa Clara) 8-3
Singles
No. 1 — Philip Therp (UCSB) defeated Jay Wong (Santa Clara) 6-4, 6-4
No. 2 — Jack Hui (UCSB) defeated Kenzo Hirakawa-Wong (Santa Clara) 6-2, 6-2
No. 3 — Josh Finkelstein (UCSB) defeated Senthil Chidambaram (Santa Clara) 4-6, 7-5, (10-8)
No. 4 — Max Taylor (UCSB) defeated Charlie Burke (Santa Clara) 6-2, 6-1
No. 5 — Taylor Chavez-Goggin (UCSB) defeated Justin Wong (Santa Clara) 6-1, 6-0
No. 6 — Nigel Barton (UCSB) defeated John Iwanski (Santa Clara) 6-0, 6-0
Next Matches
No. 48 San Diego State, 1 p.m. Saturday, Recreation Center Courts
No. 52 Fresno State, 1:30 p.m., Recreation Center Courts
UC Davis, 1 p.m. April 5, Recreation Center Courts
Pacific, noon April 6, Recreation Center Courts
Marty Davis coaches men’s tennis at UCSB.