Men’s Tennis Ends Regular Season With Win

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – Santa Barbara City College Men's Tennis traveled to Bakersfield on Friday, beating American River 7-2 in a neutral non-conference matchup. The final match of the regular season, the Vaqueros were happy to celebrate it with a win.

The Vaqueros' doubles play got off to a good start on line two with Matias Lapidus and Nick Bosch-Garza taking a commanding lead, thanks in part to Bosch-Garza's dynamic net game. The pair cruised to an 8-2 victory.

It was a slower start on lines one and three, though. The Beavers broke the Vaqueros' serve early on one, but Loris Alem and Ludwig Chan figured out their way to get back. Eventually, the Vaqueros' No. 1 team used solid transition play and found variety that gave them an 8-6 victory.

 No. 3 duo Herman Sagedahl and Floris Van Bladel had the biggest challenge to overcome, finding themselves down 3-0. They used a strong comeback to win 8-6.

"I am really impressed with the chemistry of our doubles teams as of late," head coach Danny Echt said. "In particular, to have Herman and Floris battle back from a poor start and find their rhythm shows how well they communicate with one another. It was a great team effort on their part.

"The comeback came from Herman settling in and dictating play from the backcourt, while Floris found his legs and became a disruptor at the net."

In singles, the Vaqueros got off to a very strong start, particularly important since it was their third match of the week and second in consecutive days—including yesterday's battle against conference champion Bakersfield.

"It was a goal to boost motivation across the board, and [today's match] took a great deal of composure and collective mental strength," Echt said. "This team has shown fabulous improvement and matured together, and they are showing a competitive attitude and a healthy mindset."

Winning all matches but two in straight sets, the Vaqueros particularly dominated on courts two through five. Lapidus won 6-0, 6-0 on court three.

"Today was the final dual match of the season, and the performance was definitely a season highlight across the entire team," Echt said proudly. "The boys are playing hard, staying together, and having a great time."

"After a long drive," Van Bladel added, "we came out loud, played even louder, and pushed each other to take the win."

Next up for the Vaqueros is the WSC Conference Individuals beginning on Tuesday at Ventura College.