University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
UC Santa Barbara
Players Mentioned
Milicevic Upsets No. 8 Player in Nation; Gophers Sweep Gauchos
2/15/2020 3:58:00 PM | Men's Tennis
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - The University of Minnesota men's tennis team came away with a 7-0 victory over the UC-Santa Barbara Gauchos Saturday afternoon at Baseline Tennis Center.
The Gophers, who now hold a record of 6-2 on the spring season, were able to sweep the Gauchos in doubles and singles play with wins from Stefan Milicevic, Vlad Lobak, Siim Troost, Jackson Allen, Eli Ogilvy, and Sebastian Vile.
In the No. 1 singles spot, senior Stefan Milicevic saw himself facing Joseph Guillin of UC Santa Barbara, who lines up as the 8th-ranked singles player in the nation according to ITA. Milicevic saw himself on top at the conclusion of the match, winning the tightly contested battle 7-6, 7-5.
Doubles Competition
Minnesota was able to start off the match by earning a crucial doubles point over the Gauchos, with the No. 1 doubles pairing of Vlad Lobak and Siim Troost winning their match by a score of 6-2 and with the pairing of Stefan Milicevic and Jackson Allen securing the point with a 6-1 victory in the No. 2 doubles position. The No. 3 doubles match featuring Eli Ogilvy and Sebastian Vile went unfinished.
Singles Competition
The Maroon & Gold carried their momentum from doubles play into singles, with both Eli Ogilvy and Siim Troost making quick work of their competition in the No. 5 and No. 3 singles spots, respectively. It was then junior Vlad Lobak who clinched the match for the Gophers, as he defeated Santa Barbara's Victor Krustev in the No. 2 singles spot by a score of 6-2, 6-2.
Sebastian Vile and Jackson Allen also saw themselves earning two set sweeps against their opponents, with Vile winning his match 6-4, 6-1 and Allen winning his match 6-3, 6-4. Senior Stefan Milicevic, who entered today's match ranked as the No. 85 singles player in the nation, took on UCSB's Joseph Guillin, who entered the match as the 8th-ranked collegiate singles player. Ultimately it was Milicevic who came away victorious, as he secured the 7-6, 7-5 upset to finish off the day for the Gophers.
Notable
Stefan Milicevic's upset victory over 8th-ranked Joseph Guillin marks Milicevic's first ever ranked win over a top-10 opponent. The last Gopher to have a top-10 singles victory was Felix Corwin in 2018, when he defeated then No. 4 ranked Mikael Torpegaard of Ohio State in straight sets.
Quotable
"Today we played against a good Santa Barbara team, but we came out and competed, worked on what we had to work on, and ended up sweeping them," senior Stefan Milicevic said. "We're looking forward to Pepperdine in eight days. They're very similar to Santa Barbara and it's going to be a good battle, which is why it'll be a good advantage for us to be at home. We always love playing at home so if we utilize it we can do what we did today and get the victory."
Up Next
The Gophers will now have over a week to prepare for another one match homestand next weekend, as the Maroon & Gold are set to play the Pepperdine Waves at Baseline Tennis Center at 2:00 p.m. CST on Sunday, February 23.