SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The UC San Diego women's tennis team resumed Big West competition and the Tritons fell to UC Santa Barbara, 6-1, on a cool, windy afternoon at Arnhold Tennis Center. In a match much tighter than the final score indicated, UC San Diego battled against the two-time defending conference champs, getting on the board in every set played.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final: UC San Diego 1, UC Santa Barbara 6
Records: UC San Diego 6-8 (1-3 Big West), UC Santa Barbara 2-10 (2-0 BW)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
UC San Diego struck first in doubles action, earning a 6-0 win at the No. 3 position when sophomores Kelly Leung and Naomi Nguyen blanked the Gauchos' Valentina Khrebtova and Solaya Han. UCSB responded to secure the doubles point thanks to a 6-2 win at No. 2 and a 6-3 win on court one.
 
In singles action, UC Santa Barbara extended its lead to 3-0 in the match with a 6-2, 6-2 win by Kira Reuter at No. 3 and a 6-3, 6-2 victory by No. 40 Amelia Honer at the first position.
 
Triton sophomore Katelyn Vu continued her winning ways, earning a 6-4, 6-2 win over Han at sixth singles. That victory gave UC San Diego its first point over the Gauchos since joining The Big West.
 
UC Santa Barbara clinched the win with a 6-4, 6-4 victory by Camille Kiss at No. 2 over UC San Diego junior Ella Pachl. The final three singles matches were all tightly contested. In addition to Pachl's narrow defeat, senior Sophie Pearson suffered a slim 6-4, 6-4 setback at No. 4 and Nguyen came up just short, 7-5, 7-5 at fifth singles.
 
RESULTS
Doubles
1. Amelia Honer/Kira Reuter (UCSB) def. Ella Pachl/Sophie Pearson (UCSD), 6-3
2. Camile Kiss/Marta Ballbe-Gonzalez (UCSB) def. Rachel Wagner/Katelyn Vu (UCSD), 6-2
3. Kelly Leung/Naomi Nguyen (UCSD) def. Valentina Khrebtova/Solaya Han (UCSB), 6-0

Order of finish: 3, 2, 1
 
Singles
1. Amelia Honer (UCDB) def. Kelly Leung (UCSD), 6-3, 6-2
2. Camile Kiss (UCSB) def. Ella Pachl (UCSD), 6-4, 6-4
3. Kira Reuter (UCSB) def. Grace Gamal (UCSD), 6-2, 6-2
4. Valentina Khrebtova (UCSB) def. Sophie Pearson (UCSD), 6-4, 6-4
5. Marta Ballbe-Gonzalez (UCSB) def. Naomi Nguyen (UCSD), 7-5, 7-5
6. Katelyn Vu (UCSD) def. Solaya Han (UCSB), 6-4, 6-2

Order of finish: 3, 1, 6, 2, 4, 5
 
QUOTABLE
"We played hard and had some close matches against a traditional power in our conference," said UC San Diego head coach Liz LaPlante. "I'm pleased with the improvement we showed."
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Sophomores Naomi Nguyen and Kelly Leung won their second straight doubles match and improved to 2-0 on court three with a 6-0 win Saturday.
• The Tritons fell to 0-3 against the Gauchos since joining The Big West in 2020-21. UC Santa Barbara – the two-time defending conference champions – won both prior meetings, 4-0.
• With Saturday's win at No. 6, sophomore Katelyn Vu now leads the Tritons with seven singles wins.

 
UP NEXT
On Sunday, UC San Diego visits Cal Poly for a Big West match at Noon PDT. Live stats will be available on UCSDTritons.com.
 
About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program began a new era in 2020 as a member of The Big West in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 83 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have earned prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 90 percent, the highest rate among public institutions in Divisions I and II.