The #56 UCSB men’s tennis team looks to continue on their quest for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament in May, hosting #53 Fresno State on Friday and Big West opponents UC Davis and Pacific on Saturday and Sunday.

The Gauchos (9-5 overall, 2-1 in the Big West) are currently ranked third in Big West play behind Pacific (8-7, 2-0 Big West) and Cal Poly (9-7, 1-0 Big West). However, Cal Poly has only registered one conference victory – against UCSB – and the league picture may look different come Monday after the Mustangs play Pacific on Saturday and Davis (8-8, 1-1 Big West) on Sunday. Davis occupies fourth place in the Big West standings, while UCSB holds the best overall record in the conference.

The Gauchos climbed eight spots in the rankings this week after winning six of seven matches during the last two weeks of March. Their only home loss this season came against #48 San Diego State last Saturday.

Sophomore Philip Therp looks to achieve more success at the number one singles spot after winning two out of his last three singles matches, improving to 8-6 on the season. Freshman Taylor Chavez-Goggin may also start his third match of the season after playing in his last two matches and losing a close three-set match in the sixth spot to San Diego State’s Tim Schulz van Endert. Senior Jack Hui and freshman Alexander Konigsfeldt hold the best singles records on the team at 9-5 and 9-4, respectively.

Fresno State has trounced their last four opponents, beating UC Davis 7-0 in their last match on March 29th and DePaul, Eastern Washington and St. Mary’s 6-1. Before losing to the Bulldogs, Davis won 4-3 against Division II Sonoma State and 7-0 against Division III Swarthmore. Pacific has also won their last four matches, their most recent win a 6-1 ousting of Nevada on March 30.

Tomorrow’s match against Fresno State takes place at 1:30 p.m. at the Rec Cen Courts.