Feb. 16, 2003
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The Santa Clara University men's tennis team fell to UC Santa Barbara 5-2 this afternoon at the SCU Tennis Center to end the Broncos' 13- match win streak at home.
Santa Clara's record moves to 4-4 overall, while the Gauchos improve to 4-3 on the season. Dating back to last season's 11-0 mark, and 2003 victories over UC Santa Cruz and Hawaii, the Broncos had increased their streak of home matches won to 13.
With inclement weather predicted for the day, the sun prevailed, and brought out a great crowd to support the tennis program.
"We created opportunities but missed converting on some critical points," SCU head coach George Husack said. "It was a nail-biter. We competed well and we like playing at home, but UCSB was the better team today."
The teams split doubles contests by 8-4 scores on the first and third court, but it was UC Santa Barbara's Alex Anselme and Mike Placek who secured the doubles point with an 8-6 victory over the Broncos' Rick Ruso and Francisco Zepponi.
In singles action, the Gauchos had two nationally-ranked singles players earning victories, with 55th-ranked Carlos Palencia topping Erich Chen and No. 122 Micro Schwindt besting Federico Mattioli, both in straight sets.
Taylor Bedilion and Rick Ruso avoided the sweep with wins on courts four and five. Bedilion defeated Placek 6-4, 7-5 for his team-leading 15th victory of the season. Ruso topped Michael Frick 6-4, 6-3.
The Broncos will play two matches next week in Boise, Idaho, taking on Boise State on Friday, Feb. 21. The Broncos follow on Saturday with a match against New Mexico.
Doubles
1. Palencia/Schwindt (UCSB) def. Chen/Bruggemann (SCU) 8-4
2. Anselme/Placek (UCSB) def. Ruso/Zepponi (SCU) 8-6
3. Mattioli/Bedilion (SCU) def. Ilya Leshinsky/Brotman (UCSB) 8-4
Singles
1. No. 55 Carlos Palencia (UCSB) def. Erich Chen (SCU) 6-3, 6-4
2. No. 122 Micro Schwindt (UCSB) def. Federico Mattioli (SCU) 6-0, 6-1
3. Alex Anselme (UCSB) def. Francisco Zepponi (SCU) 6-7 (4), 7-6 (4), (10-4)
4. Taylor Bedilion (SCU) def. Mike Placek (UCSB) 6-4, 7-5
5. Rick Ruso (SCU) def. Michael Frick (UCSB) 6-4, 6-3
6. Nicholas Brotman (UCSB) def. Ben Hidalgo (SCU) 6-1, 6-4