The UCSB women’s tennis team will look to maintain its perfect conference record and build a winning streak as they head to Hawaii for the first match in a five-match road trip on Sunday.
The Gauchos come into the weekend at 2-0 in The Big West, having defeated UC San Diego in their last match. The Rainbow Wahine enter the weekend on a three-match winning streak and with a 4-1 Big West record.
The match is set for 5:30 p.m. Pacific time Sunday at the University of Hawai’i Tennis Center.
The Gauchos have won nine of their last 15 matches against the Rainbow Wahine and are on a three-match winning streak against Hawai’i coming into Sunday’s match. UCSB won on its last trip to the islands in 2021, 5-2, then knocked Hawai’i out of The Big West Championships with a 4-0 win that same season.
LAST TIME OUT
The Gauchos got back into the win column with their second Big West victory of the season in their last match, taking down UC San Diego, 6-1, at the Arnhold Tennis Center. The Gauchos took the doubles point and won on the top five singles courts, with Marta Gonzalez Ballbe clinching the match on court five. Walk-on freshman Solaya Han made her collegiate debut against the Tritons and played well, despite not getting the win on court six
UP NEXT
UCSB will return from Hawaii but remain on the road for their next matches, as the Gauchos are set to take on UCLA March 30 and San Diego April 1 in a pair of road non-conference contests. UCSB’s next home match will be April 15, when they welcome UC Irvine to the Arnhold Tennis Center.
RANKING UP
The Intercollegiate Tennis Association released its newest player rankings on March 21, and UCSB’s Amelia Honer and Kira Reuter both were featured. Honer remains one of the most highly regarded singles players in the country, checking in at No. 61 in the most recent rankings. Honer and Reuter continue to form a formidable tandem in doubles as well, and remain in the top 25 partnerships in the country, checking in at No. 24.
HONER WINS BACK-TO-BACK BIG WEST WEEKLY AWARDS, AGAIN (MARCH 8)
For the second time this season, Amelia Honer earned Big West Player of the Week honors in consecutive weeks, winning the sixth weekly award of her career after a strong showing against Oklahoma State and Loyola Marymount, teams ranked No. 35 and No. 62 at the time.
Honer won both her singles matches against the Cowgirls and Lions in straight sets on court one, while also picking up a win on the top doubles court alongside Kira Reuter against Oklahoma State. The award is her fourth of the season, following back-to-back wins at the end of January and beginning of February
Eric Boose is assistant director of athletic communications at UCSB.
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