The 2008 seasons for both the UC Santa Barbara men and Long Beach State women ended in the first round of the NCAA Tennis Championships during the weekend as the Gauchos fell to Stanford and the 49ers lost to Denver.
UCSB concluded its season at 15-10, while LBSU ended the 2008 campaign 19-7. Both teams earned the Big West automatic bids to the NCAA Championships after winning the conference tournament in Indian Wells at the end of April.
The Gauchos lost 4-0 to No. 22-ranked Stanford at the Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center on the campus of Pepperdine University on Saturday. UCSB nearly wrestled the doubles point away from the Cardinal, but fell into a 1-0 deficit. The No. 2 team of Josh Finkelstein and Alexander Konigsfeldt led 8-7 against the Cardinal duo of Alex Clayton and Ted Kelly, but did not finish the match as UCSB lost at the No. 1 and No. 3 positions. UCSB's No. 1 team of Philip Therp and Bijan Hejazi were defeated 9-8 (8-6 in the tiebreaker) by the Cardinal tandem of Matt Bruch and Blake Muller.
In singles, Stanford rolled to victories at the No. 1, No. 4 and No. 6 positions to clinch the victory. Therp lost 6-1, 6-4 to Clayton at No. 1, Konigsfeldt fell 6-3, 6-1 to Muller at No. 4 and Max Taylor dropped a 6-2, 6-0 decision to Greg Hirshman.
The Gauchos, who came in ranked 58th in the country, were making their second straight NCAA Tournament appearance.
Long Beach State also lost by a 4-0 score to No. 28-ranked Denver on Friday at UCLA's Los Angeles Tennis Center. Despite not picking up a point, the 49ers battled the Pioneers at several positions.
The 49er No. 1 doubles duo of Hannah Grady and Stephanie Bengson, ranked No. 53 nationally, romped to an 8-2 victory against the Pioneers' Julia Bauregger and Mallory Voelker. However, LBSU's quest for the doubles point was spoiled with losses at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions.
Singles play saw LBSU No. 3 player Deborah Armstrong leading in the third set (2-6, 6-3, 3-1), No. 5 player Jessica Weeks tied through two sets (7-5, 1-6) and No. 1 player Hannah Grady on the verge of closing out the second set (6-4, 5-6) when all three matches were suspended.
The Pioneers captured victories at the No. 2, No. 4 and No. 6 spots to earn the win. At No. 2, Annette Aksdal won 6-2, 6-2 against Stephanie Bengson. Bhavani Tirumurti defeated Lisa Sutton by a 6-3, 6-4 score at No. 6. The match-clinching victory came at No. 4 where Bauregger outlasted Stephanie Jeanes, 5-7, 6-3, 6-1.
Long Beach State, which entered the match No. 37 nationally, returns five of its six starters for next season.