Feb. 22, 2004
IRVINE, Calif. - The Santa Clara University men's tennis team fell to 75th-ranked UC Irvine 4-3 this afternoon at Anteater Tennis Stadium. The Broncos' record falls to 3-6, while the Anteaters improve to 4-3.
UC Irvine swept the doubles matches, but Santa Clara put itself in position to win with strong singles play. Freshman Kevin McQuaid tied the match with his 6-2, 6-3 victory at No. 6 singles. Anteater victories on the first and fourth courts put UCI ahead in the team score 3-1, but Santa Clara tied the match at 3-3 with Taylor Bedilion's 6-0, 6-4 victory over Ryusuke Kashiwabara and Francisco Zepponi's come-from-behind 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 win over Renouk Wijemanne. Zepponi won the final nine games of the contest to secure his victory.
Court three became the focus of attention as senior Erich Chen was battling Brian Morton. After winning the first set, Chen was up two break points at 3-3 in the third set, but Morton came up with a forehand winner and a volley to tie and then win the game before moving on to the match victory.
The Broncos return home for a three-match homestand at the SCU Tennis Center. It begins when Santa Clara hosts West Coast Conference opponent Loyola Marymount on Saturday at 10:30 a.m.
No. 75 UC Irvine def. Santa Clara 4-3
Doubles
1. Morton/Kashiwabara (UCI) def. No. 49 Fischer/Kochanski (SCU) 8-4
2. Wkwesi Williams/Endrikat (UCI) def. Chen/Bedilion (SCU) 8-6
3. Korac/Peter Surapol (UCI) def. Bobby Rasmussen / Ben Hidalgo (SCU) 8-1
Singles
1. Jonathan Endrikat (UCI) def. Gernot Fischer (SCU) 6-2, 6-4
2. Taylor Bedilion (SCU) def. Ryusuke Kashiwabara (UCI) 6-0, 6-4
3. Brian Morton (UCI) def. Erich Chen (SCU) 5-7, 6-4, 6-3*
4. Zoran Korac (UCI)def. Eric Kochanski (SCU) 7-5, 6-1
5. Francisco Zepponi (SCU) def. Renouk Wijemanne (UCI) 4-6, 6-3, 6-0
6. Kevin McQuaid (SCU) def. Mustafa Ulukan (UCI) 6-2, 6-3
* Clinched Team Victory