Box Score TEMPE, Arizona — Utah State lost its opening match of the ASU Invite to No. 71-ranked UC Santa Barbara, 4-0, on Friday at the Kiwanis Tennis Center.
 
The Aggies dropped the doubles points via losses at the first and second positions. At the third spot, graduate senior Felipe Acosta and freshman Sergi Mico Fenollar had their match suspended while facing a 4-3 deficit.
 
In singles play, three straight-set victories for the Gauchos spelled doom for USU as junior David Cierny, Mico Fenollar and junior Roko Savin all lost at the first, fourth and fifth positions, respectively.
 
At the time of clinch, several Aggies held leads late in their individual matches. Acosta led UCSB's Victor Krustev, 6-4, 4-0, while junior Bodin Zarkovic was up on Stefano Tsorotiotis, 6-4, 4-4, before matches were suspended. Senior Maksymilian Raupuk had his match suspended shortly after falling in a first-set tiebreak.
 
Utah State will have an immediate opportunity to get back into the win column with a match in the consolation bracket of the tournament versus No. 65-ranked Rice. The match is scheduled for tomorrow at 1 p.m. (MT).
 
Fans can follow USU's men's tennis team on Twitter @USUMensTennis, on Facebook at /UtahStateMensTennis or on Instagram at USUMensTennis.  Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program on Twitter, @USUAthletics, Facebook at /USUAthletics and on Instagram, @USUAthletics.
 
RESULTS
UC Santa Barbara 4, Utah State 0
Doubles
1. Phillip Jordan/Kai Brady (UCSB) def. Jack Ninteman/Javier Ruiz (USU) 6-2
2. Stefano Tsorotiotis/Alejandro Vedri (UCSB) def. David Cierny/Bodin Zarkovic (USU) 6-0
3. Felipe Acosta/Sergi Mico Fenollar (USU) vs. Pablo Masjuan/Gianluca Brunkow (UCSB) 3-4, unfinished
 
Singles
1. Jordan (UCSB) def. Cierny (USU) 6-2, 6-4
2. Zarkovic (USU) vs. Tsorotiotis (UCSB) 6-4, 4-4, unfinished
3. Acosta (USU) vs. Victor Krustev (UCSB) 6-4, 4-0, unfinished
4. Masjuan (UCSB) def. Mico Fenollar (USU) 6-4, 6-0
5. Brady (UCSB) def. Roko Savin (USU) 6-0, 6-4
6. Maksymilian Raupuk (USU) vs. Brunkow (UCSB) 6-7 (1), 1-2, unfinished
 
Match Notes
Utah State: 4-4, 0-0 MW
UC Santa Barbara: 6-3, 0-0 Big West
 
 - USU -