Men’s Tennis Splits Conference Matches
SBCC played back-to-back WSC North conference dual matchups on Wednesday and Thursday.
Vaqueros traveled to Ventura and competed hard against the division champion Ventura squad and lost 0-9.
With a change in the doubles lineup vs Ventura, the No. 3 team of Loris Alem and Sky Benes started off a bit uneven and fought their way back, extending the match to 4-8. Sky and Loris found success with variety from the backcourt mixing it up high and low against quality doubles opponents. They showed guts hanging in there after the Pirate team came out very hot serving big.
Santa Barbara's No. 1 Mauritz Seitz had another epic battle vs Ventura's No. 1 Rafael Matias. Each time these two opponents have faced each other in the last two years, the match has gone three sets and they are even against one another. The heart and grit these two bring out are special and they have great respect for one another.
Seitz played a bit more aggressively, working his way into the net and putting some pressure on Matias. It was two critical points in the third set where Seitz attacked intelligently and got Matias on the run; his reply both times were deep high lobs that landed on the baseline and both points lasted another 10 shots or so and Matias weathered the attacks well and Matias won the match, 6-3 0-6, 10-4.
On Thursday, the Vaqueros played exceptionally well and took the match 9-0, another WSC opponent in a match that could have postseason importance.
The highlight in doubles was the play of No. 1 Anton Dahlen and Mauritz Seitz. For not playing together before, they came out with a lot of fire and high-pressure doubles putting the ball down and closing hard against a team that had good hands at the net. The Vaqs didn't step off the gas and served through some tough situations coming out with an 8-0 win.
In singles, SBCC No. 4 Ada Guler played his best match of the season winning his match 6-2 6-0. "I am very proud of my team," said Guler. "We had some ups and downs today but in the end our chemistry allowed us to stay strong. Today's win gets us into the playoffs like last year which is exciting. I think we started to play with more awareness and this helped us find a path to victory. We enjoy playing out there, and we are ready to give everything we have to the end."
Next week, the Vaqs play at home Monday, Wednesday and Friday vs Fresno, Glendale and Fullerton.