Feb. 14, 2004
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The Santa Clara University men's tennis team fell to 39th-ranked Fresno State 4-3 this afternoon at the SCU Tennis Center. The Broncos' record falls to 2-5, while the Bulldogs even their mark to 4-4.
Fresno State clinched the doubles point with wins on courts one and three. Bronco upperclassmen Erich Chen and Taylor Bedilion avoided the FSU sweep with an 8-4 win on the second court.
In singles action, Charles Irie and Jakub Cech earned straight-set victories on courts four and five to give the Bulldogs a 3-0 match lead. Santa Clara responded with two victories to keep the contest close. Freshman Kevin McQuaid posted a 7-5, 7-4 win over Sergiu Modoc on the sixth court, while Chen picked up his first singles victory of the season, winning the last three games to earn a 6-4, 7-5 win over Stefan Suta.
Courts one and two saw come-from-behind victories to close the competition. Alex Krohn clinched the Fresno State team win with his individual victory over Bedilion, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3. Senior Gernot Fischer posted the Broncos' final point of the afternoon with his 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 win over Greg Shearer.
"Today was by far the best match of the season," head coach George Husack said. "We gave ourselves an opportunity to beat a top program and it went down to the wire. Of course we want to win, but all week we've been focusing on giving ourselves the chance to be in the situation we saw today. I'm very happy with the guys."
The Broncos will return to action on Monday to battle Cal Poly, also a home match with a 1 p.m. first serve.
No. 39 Fresno State def. Santa Clara 4-3
Doubles
1. Suta/Modoc (FSU) def. No. 49 Fischer/Kochanski (SCU) 8-3
2. Chen/Bedilion (SCU) def. Shearer/Irie (FSU) 8-4
3. Krohn/Cech (FSU) def. McQuaid/Zepponi (SCU) 8-0
Singles
1. Gernot Fischer (SCU) def. Greg Shearer (FSU) 4-6, 6-4, 6-2
2. Alex Krohn (FSU) def. Taylor Bedilion (SCU) 3-6, 6-2, 6-3*
3. Erich Chen (SCU) def. Stefan Suta (FSU) 6-4, 7-5
4. Charles Irie (FSU) def. Eric Kochanski (SCU) 6-4, 6-0
5. Jakub Cech (FSU) def. Francisco Zepponi (SCU) 7-5, 6-2
6. Kevin McQuaid (SCU) def. Sergiu Modoc (FSU) 7-5, 6-4
* Clinched Team Victory