UCSB Women’s tennis brings home the Big West Championship title. Courtesy of UCSB Women’s Tennis

After winning the Big West regular-season championship earlier this month, the UC Santa Barbara women’s tennis team headed into the Big West tournament as the No. 1 seed. UCSB beat both California State University Long Beach in the semi-finals and California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo in the championship match.

Traveling to San Diego, the Gauchos were moved immediately to the semifinals. Ranked No. 50 with a 17-8 overall record and 9-0 Big West, the Gauchos began the weekend against CSU Long Beach (14-11, 5-4 Big West) on Friday, April 24, at Barnes Tennis Center.

April 24 

Off to a slow start in the doubles matches, the Gauchos narrowly lost the doubles point. Finishing first, sophomore Lily Pradkin and graduate student Shanelle Iaconi defeated the Beach 6-4. Sophomore Emma Tutoveanu and freshman My-Anh Holmes followed, losing 3-6. With the doubles point on the line, junior Ekua Youri and freshman Caroline Beard played a close match, losing 6-7, sending the match to a tiebreaker, which they lost 3-7.

Heading into the singles matches, the Beach led 1-0. Finishing first, Iaconi shifted the momentum, dominating on court six where she scored a 7-5, 6-0 victory.

However, the Beach regained the lead and took another victory, against sophomore Raphaelle Leroux, who lost 2-6, 4-6. Trailing, the Gauchos came back in on courts four and one. Pradkin dominated 6-1, 6-3, and Youri narrowly clinched the match 7-5, 6-4.

With a Gaucho 3-2 advantage, the Beach closed in. Forcing a 3-3 tie on court three, Tutoveanu lost 5-7, came back to win the second set 7-6 (7-2), yet lost the third set 3-6. 

With a spot in the finals on the line, all eyes turned to court two, where freshman Isabella Wong rallied back after losing the first set 2-6. Staying strong, she won the next two sets 6-4 and 7-6 (7-4).

Ending in a close victory, the Gauchos beat the Beach 4-3 and prepared for the finale on Saturday, April 25, against Cal Poly.

April 25

Saturday’s match against Cal Poly (13-10, 7-2 Big West) featured a 4-3 win from the Gauchos.

The Gauchos dominated early, securing the doubles point. First, Tutoveanu and Holmes secured the win at 6-1. Pradkin and Iaconi followed with a loss of 3-6. Youri and Beard finished it off with a 6-4 win on court one.

With an early 1-0 advantage, the singles matches were a give-and-take battle for the championship title. Youri began with a win on court one, 6-3, 6-1. Leading 2-0, Cal Poly fought back with a win on court two against Wong, who lost 4-6,1-6. 

Ahead by one, Tutoveanu reclaimed Gaucho dominance. Winning the first set 6-4, she fell short in the second 2-6 but regained momentum, winning the third 6-1.  

Leading 3-1, attention turned to court four, where Pradkin fought hard but lost the match 3-6, 6-7 (1-7) in a second-set tiebreaker. With confidence dwindling, Holmes fought hard on court five, pushing the match to three sets, yet couldn’t pull out the win at 3-6, 6-3 and 2-6.

With a 3-all tie and reignited Mustang momentum, the victory was determined by Leroux on court six. With all eyes on her court, Leroux conceded the first set 4-6 but climbed back up to deliver a powerful 6-2 and 6-1 victory.

Marking the end of the 2025-26 UCSB Women’s tennis season, they delivered a final blow against the rival Mustangs and pulled through with a tough 4-3 championship victory. The Gauchos’ last championship was won in 2022, where they beat Cal Poly 4-1.