The UCSB women’s tennis team plays at San Diego State this afternoon and then resumes Big West play at home against Cal State Northridge on Sunday. The Gauchos are 4-9 overall and 2-1 in the Big West after dropping their last two matches.

SDSU (3-8) comes in with a 2-2 record against Big West competition, with wins over UC Riverside and Cal State Fullerton and losses to UC Irvine and Long Beach State.

“I know their doubles is good,” senior Jordan Dockendorf said of the Aztecs, who have picked up the doubles point in five of their last six matches. “I’m sure they’re solid [overall], but we don’t ever play them.”

In fact, this will be the teams’ first meeting since 1999. Northridge, meanwhile, is a much more familiar opponent for Santa Barbara, as they already met on Jan. 29 as part of the ITA Indoor Championships in Coral Gables, Fla. in a match that UCSB lost 5-2 but did not count towards conference records.

Northridge is also 2-1 in the Big West (5-4 overall) as both teams are tied for second place behind Long Beach State and UC Irvine. The Matadors already lost to Long Beach but have wins over Fullerton and Riverside.

In January’s match, the Matadors swept the doubles point while senior Sofia Novak and freshman April Scatliffe picked up the two points for UCSB, who won the regular season meeting in Northridge last year 4-3. With different doubles teams and a different location, the Gauchos are confident in a better result this time.

“We’re still figuring out doubles; it’s always up in the air,” Dockendorf said. “But the reason its gonna be different is we’re not in Miami. We’re at home and have a lot on our side this time. We definitely have higher hopes than last time.”

Match times are 2 p.m. today at the Aztec Tennis Center and 12 p.m. on Sunday at the Rob Gym Courts.

 

After two losses last weekend, the No. 65 UCSB men’s tennis team will look to bounce back at home against Nevada on Sunday. UCSB is 7-6 but has not lost to an unranked team all year and is hoping Nevada doesn’t change that.

“We just gotta work harder and stay positive because that’s the only thing we can do right now,” senior Mathieu Forget said.

The Wolf Pack are 5-5 overall and 1-1 against Big West competition, beating UC Riverside but losing to Pacific in its last match. Santa Barbara will look to get off to a strong start by winning the doubles point, something it didn’t do against Cal Poly or Santa Clara last week despite close matches.

“I think we’re making some progress in the doubles,” Head Coach Marty Davis said. “Although we didn’t win the doubles point [last weekend], I feel like we’re getting there.”

Sunday’s match is set for a 1 p.m. start at the Rec Cen Courts.

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