SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -- The University of men's tennis team faced the Santa Barbara Gauchos on Saturday afternoon, held at the Santa Barbara Recreation Courts, falling 7-0.

"Unfortunately we weren't able to close out matches and we let the moment get to us," said USF assistant coach Matt Berry. "We showed improvement in areas, but we need to trust the process. Overall the boys battled hard, but came up short."

The Dons were off to a great start in doubles when Mert Zincirli and Johan Joenhagen won their match, 6-2. Ryan Marker and Paul Giraud went down early and were unable to comeback, finishing 6-3. In the last doubles match, Lucas Marinelli and Oliver Poysti couldn't capitalize on their chances to win, falling to the UCSB pair 6-3.

USF started singles with set wins from Marinelli and Poysti. Both however dropped their matches 6-3, 6-2 and 6-4, 6-3, respectively. Zincirli followed with a lost match as well, 6-1, 7-5. Giraud went into the tiebreaker round, but fell in the final set, 4-6, 6-1, 6-3. Marker (0-6, 7-5) and Joenhagen (4-6, 6-3) both took a win in their first match, ultimately falling to the Gauchos.

"We played a tough team today that dug deeper than us," said head coach Pablo Pires de Almeida. "It's time to rebound for [Cal Poly]."

With the loss today, the Dons are now 2-4 on the season.

Doubles

1. Zincirli and Joenhagen def. Nicolas Moreno de Alboran and Anders Holm; 6-2
2. Simon Freund and Joseph Rotheram def. Marker and Giraud; 6-3
3. Joseph Guillin and Hironori Koyanagi def. Marinelli and Poysti; 6-3

Singles

1. Moreno de Alboran def. Zincirli; 6-1, 7-5
2. Freund def. Joenhagen; 4-6, 6-3
3. Holm def. Marker; 0-6, 7-5
4. Guillin def Poysti; 6-4, 6-3
5. Koyanagi def. Giraud; 4-6, 6-1, 6-3
6. Rotherham def. Marinelli; 6-3, 6-2

UP NEXT
The Dons head to San Luis Obispo on Sunday, Feb. 18 at the Mustang Tennis Complex for a match against Cal Poly. First serve is scheduled for 12 p.m.