For their home opener, the UCSB men’s tennis team will play Loyola Marymount University (2-1) on Sunday at the Rec Cen Courts at 1 p.m., a team they narrowly beat during a scrimmage in the fall.

“It’s pretty evenly matched,” senior Jack Hui said. “They might have one more guy coming in, [but] it should be close.”

The Gauchos return home after a brutal loss to #36 Washington (4-2) and a nail-biting victory over Ball State (3-4) last weekend. They played both games indoors – which caused some difficulty for a team used to playing with an ocean breeze.

UCSB is hoping to overcome a number of injuries and illnesses that have plagued the team in recent weeks.

Freshman Eric Lee, who narrowly won his match last week to clinch the victory for UCSB, left practice early to see Student Health about his sore throat. Sophomore Philip Therp was also absent because of the flu. However, Head Coach Marty Davis expects that both of them will play on Sunday.

Three players have already contracted long-term injuries before playing a spring match for the Gauchos. Senior Anders Dalskov recently underwent surgery, junior Max Taylor hurt his shoulder in a bicycle accident and sophomore Scott Hohenstein hurt his wrist.