MEN'S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL

In a tense, dramatic match that lasted that 3 hours and 35 minutes, third-seeded UC Santa Barbara outlasted top-seeded Cal Poly 4-3 in the finals of the Big West Men's Tennis Championship at Orange County Great Park.

The match came down to No. 4 singles where UCSB freshman Pablo Masjuan pulled out an exhausting three-set win over Cal Poly's Joe Leather. All three sets went to tiebreakers, with Masjuan ultimately earning the 6-7 (1), 7-6 (7), 7-6 (3) victory. The Gauchos won their record sixth straight tournament title and punched their ticket to the NCAA Championship as the Big West's automatic qualifier.

BOX SCORE

NOTES

• UCSB's six straight titles span 2015-19 and 2021. The 2020 tournament did not take place due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

• The Gauchos also collected their 14th title overall, tying the Big West record for most championships by one program.

• UCSB has won 14 consecutive Big West Tournament contests, and 18 of its last 19 overall. The Gauchos have not lost in the tournament since the 2014 finals.

• UCSB has defeated Cal Poly in the finals the last five tournaments.

• Four of the six singles matches went to three sets, with Cal Poly winning two and UCSB two. Gary Vardanyan tied the match at 2-2 when the Mustang No. 6 player defeated UCSB's Kai Brady, 6-2, 1-6, 6-3. Joseph Guillin put UCSB back on top, 3-2, when he downed Alex Stater at No. 1, 2-6, 7-5, 6-3, but the Mustangs evened the score again when freshman Noah Berry earned a gritty 7-6 (4), 6-7 (3), 6-4 win over Stefano Tsorotiotis. That set the stage for Masjuan's heroics at No. 4.