Jan. 25, 2003
TUCSON, Ariz. - The Santa Clara University men's tennis team dropped a 6-1 decision to 61st-ranked University of Arizona this afternoon in the Wildcats' season opener at the LaNelle Robson Tennis Center in Tucson. The Broncos earned the doubles point, but fell in singles play to fall to 1-1 on the season.
"It's tough to get down early against a good team and fight back," Santa Clara head coach George Husack said. "We were very happy with the way we competed. We came out awesome in doubles and really grinded out the point, and almost earned the sweep. Unfortunately, we started out singles very slow and had a rough first set. The guys did get back into it to close out the match."
The Broncos earned the doubles point by winning two of the three matches. The No. 1 doubles match went to junior Erich Chen and senior Michael Bruggemann, who defeated Carl Hagman and Paul Warkentin, 8-6. Whi Kim and Daniel Andrus won the No. 2 doubles match by defeating Rick Ruso and Francisco Zepponi, 9-7. The duo of Taylor Bedilion and Federico Mattioli combined to defeat Colin O'Grady and Roger Matalonga by a score of 8-4.
The Wildcats swept all six singles matches to earn all six points. Warkentin, playing at the No. 4 position, won the first singles match of the afternoon by beating Bedilion, 6-1, 6-4. Earning the second point was Andrus, who defeated Ruso, 6-0, 6-4. The third match to finish was the No. 2 match where Carl Hagman defeated Mattioli by score of 6-2, 6-4.
"This was a good start," coach Arizona assistant coach Bob Helmig remarked. "The guys got to see how their games match up against a feisty and tenacious Santa Clara team."
Clinching the match for Arizona was O'Grady, who beat Mattioli 6-4, 6-4, in the No. 3 position. Matalonga won in his first match as a Wildcat by defeating Bruggemann 6-2, 6-4, in the No. 6 position. The last match to finish was the No. 1 contest, which showcased Kim and Chen. Kim needed three sets to win by a score of 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-0.
The Broncos remain in the Grand Canyon state and visit No. 41 Arizona State in the Sun Devils' season opener, tomorrow at noon.
No. 61 Arizona 6, Santa Clara 1
Singles
1. Whi Kim (UA) def. Erich Chen (SCU) 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-0
2. Carl Hagman (UA) def. Francisco Zepponi (SCU) 6-2, 6-4
3. Colin O'Grady (UA) def. Federico Mattioli (SCU) 6-4, 6-4
4. Paul Warkentin (UA) def. Taylor Bedilion (SCU) 6-1, 6-4
5. Daniel Andrus (UA) def. Rick Ruso (SCU) 6-0, 6-4
6. Roger Matalonga (UA) def. Michael Bruggemann (SCU) 6-2, 6-4
Doubles
1. Bruggemann/Chen (SCU) def. Hagman/Warkentin (UA) 8-6
2. Kim/Andrus (UA) def. Ruso/Zepponi (SCU) 9-7
3. Bedilion/Mattioli (SCU) def. O'Grady/Matalonga (UA) 8-4