UCSB Gaucho Camille Kiss took home the women’s singles title while University of Washington alum Ewen Lumsden won the men’s singles in the Santa Barbara Open on Monday at the Santa Barbara Tennis Club.
In the doubles finales on Monday, Kiss and partner Diego Castillo won the mixed championship, and Mathew Berry and UCSB men’s tennis head coach Blake Muller came out on top in the men’s doubles.
The Santa Barbara Open was a part of the Semana Nautica summer sports festival.
Both Kiss and Lumsden dominated their singles championships, each winning in two sets.
Kiss took down Gaucho teammate Marta Gonzalez Ballbe, 6-2, 6-0.
Kiss and Gonzalez Ballbe were key pieces in the UCSB squad that won the 2022 Big West title this year.
“It was nice to play my teammate,” Kiss said after the win. “I thought it was really fun to play a friend and we play doubles together, so it’s always a good time when we’re on opposite sides.”
The pair won the women’s doubles title on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Lumsden beat former Santa Barbara Don and current professional tennis player Graham Maassen, 6-2, 6-2 in the men’s final matchup.
“I think I served pretty well throughout the match,” Lumsden said of a key to his success. “There were some tough conditions, the ball was bouncing pretty high, so it wasn’t easy. Usually, whoever was more aggressive came out on top.”
Maassen, the fourth seed in the tournament, applauded Lumsden after their matchup.
“He’s one of the fastest players I’ve ever played against in terms of foot speed and getting to balls while still being comfortable after covering so much court,” Maassen said.
In the doubles matchups, Kiss was back on the court with Castillo in the mixed doubles championship. They prevailed in a three-set match against Galina Bykova and Garrett Patton.
Bykova and Patton took the first set 6-4.
The second set went to a tiebreaker, and Kiss and Castillo came out on top 7-6. The duo carried their momentum into the third and final set and won 6-2 to secure the title.
“It’s always nice to be competing and I really like playing in matches,” Kiss said. “It was fun to play matches after a while of not playing them.”
In the men’s doubles championship, Berry and Muller took on UCSB alums Leo Basica and Taylor Chavez Goggin.
Berry and Muller didn’t have much trouble in the first set, winning it 6-3. However, Basica and Goggin bounced back with a 6-4 victory to send the match to a decisive set three.
Basica and Goggin held a 3-2 lead, but Berry and Muller got on a roll and won without allowing another point, 6-3.
“I think we complement each other well,” Muller said of his partner. “We do a lot of the basics right and he’s fun to play with.”
The Semana Nautica summer sports festival will resume with the Reef & Run mile swim at East Beach on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.