Vaqueros Fall To Conference-Leading Ventura
March 13, 2026
VENTURA, Calif. - Santa Barbara City College Men's Tennis traveled to four-time reigning Western State Conference (WSC) champion Ventura on Thursday, where they were defeated 9-0. Ventura has not lost a conference match since before the pandemic.
The doubles start was a bit uneven, but the Vaqueros found their legs and showed they can go toe-to-toe with the conference leader. Captain Ludwig Chan and Loris Alem picked up their game after an 0-3 start and played a high-spirited pro set, before being defeated 5-8.
"It was a good show of high percentage points and the energy was super as the Vaqs doubles teams battled well," head coach Danny Echt said.
In singles, the points were well constructed on the Vaqueros' behalf, even though Ventura put alot of pressure on all six singles lines. At the No. 5 line, SBCC's Herman Sagedahl played a gutsy match against Yanis Guerrot. Their first set outlasted nearly all the other singles matches due to grinding points and solid consistency. Sagedahl showed variety and great stamina throughout the day, eventually defeated 6-7, 0-6.
Sagedahl summed it up: "We showed bravery and fought hard against a strong Ventura program. Despite back-to-back matches [after playing Riverside the day before], the Vaqs kept going with high intensity and positive energy. We stayed positive and together even in the tougher moments. Overall, it was a good experience and a chance for us to keep improving as we move forward with the season."
The Vaqueros play Ventura back-to-back, too, hosting the Pirates on Tuesday at 2 p.m.