SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Harvard men's tennis (10-8) was tripped up by No. 32 UC Santa Barbara (11-5) in the final contest of its three-match California stretch.

The Crimson started the match on a high note, winning the doubles battle with victories on the top two courts. The Gauchos struck first with a 6-4 win on court three, but Harvard responded as Nathan Blokhin and Benjamin Privara knocked off the No. 35 ranked doubles team.

Rohan Murali and Kolos Kincses then clinched the doubles point and improved to 13-2 on the year with a gritty 7-5 win at the No. 2 spot.

The Gauchos then came to life in singles, tallying three straight set wins to power in front. With UCSB up 3-1, Benjamin Privara looked to kick start a Harvard comeback. The sophomore defeated Diogo Morais (UCSB) in three sets (6-3, 1-6, 7-5) to cut into Harvard's deficit.

Nathan Blokhin and Masato Perera each battled in the third set of their respective matches but with a win on court five the Gauchos ultimately clinched the match.

Results

Harvard – 2, UC Santa Barbara – 4
Doubles

1. Nathan Blokhin/Benjamin Privara (Harvard) def. No. 35 Miguel Avendano/Lucca Liu (UCSB), 6-4
2. Rohan Murali/Kolos Kincses (Harvard) def. Brown/Dominique Rolland (UCSB), 7-5
3. Diogo Morais/Brunkow (UCSB) def. James MacDonald/Masato Perera (Harvard), 6-4

Order of finish: 3, 1, 2
Singles

1. No. 107 Lucca Liu (UCSB) def. No. 84 Rohan Murali (Harvard), 6-1, 6-4
2. No. 44 Dominique Rolland (UCSB) def. Melchior Delloye (Harvard), 6-4, 6-1
3. No. 112 Benjamin Privara (Harvard) def. Diogo Morais (UCSB), 6-3, 1-6, 7-5
4. Nathan Blokhin vs. Miguel Avendano (UCSB), 6-4, 3-6, 5-4 DNF
5. Charlie Underwood (UCSB) def. Masato Perera (Harvard), 6-2, 5-7, 6-3
6. Carson Lee (UCSB) def. Mitchell Lee (Harvard), 6-4, 6-1

Order of finish: 2, 1, 6, 3, 5

Next Up

The Crimson will conclude its non-conference slate next weekend as it travels to University of South Florida. The two teams will square off on Saturday, March 29 at 11:00 a.m. ET.