April 20, 2006
San Bruno, Calif. - The Santa Clara men's tennis team was rewarded for their excellent play in league this year after they earned the third seed in this weekend's West Coast Conference Tennis Championships. Boasting a WCC record of 5-2 that enabled the Broncos to receive such a high placement in the main draw, Santa Clara will face sixth-seeded Loyola Marymount. No. 2 Pepperdine is the top-seeded in the three-day tournament, followed by San Diego (No. 2), San Francisco (No. 4), Saint Mary's (No. 5), Portland (No. 7, and Gonzaga (No. 8). The contest between the Broncos and the Lions will take place on Friday at 3 p.m. on the campus of Saint Mary's, located in Moraga, Calif. The winner of the tournament will earn an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.
"We are ecstatic with our third seed. It represents the success we've had in conference play this year. We look forward to three grueling day of competition and hope to find ourselves competing for a WCC title on Sunday," stated head coach George Husack.
Santa Clara is coming off of a thrilling 4-3 victory over visiting Fresno Pacific Monday night. Junior Jan Macek, who will be graduating early with a Finance degree in hand, clinched the match with his dramatic 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (1) triumph at the No. 1 spot. Along with Macek, upperclassmen Kevin McQuaid and Bobby Rasmussen have provided the Broncos with depth in both singles and doubles. Super freshmen Brian Brogan and Tommy Hicks have been major contributors since Day 1 and they are looking to end their first-year campaign with a successful run this weekend at the WCC Championships.
Loyola Marymount will be looking improve upon its 13-11 record with a victory over Santa Clara and a spot into the semifinals. After starting out the season with a dismal 1-6 mark, the Lions have increased their intensity and play and finished out the regular season 12-5. The singles line-up is dominated by upperclassmen, as juniors Linas Cicenas, Matt Phillips, Reyniere Roxas, and Nicolas Terrien occupy a majority of the spots, though seniors Carlos Malet and Michael Wojnarowicz have earned playing time for the Lions as well. Nik DeVore is in his fifth season at Loyola Marymount and has an overall record of 75-47 at LMU.
"The first day of competition is always the toughest. We know Loyola Marymount pretty well after playing them earlier this year and in the first round last year at the WCC's," stated Husack on Santa Clara's opponent on Friday afternoon. "I expect an intense match from them and I am confident that our team will respond to their challenge."
West Coast Conference Championships Schedule - Day 1
Moraga, Calif.
No. 1 Pepperdine vs. No. 8 Gonzaga, 9 a.m.
No. 4 San Francisco vs. No. 5 Saint Mary's, 11 a.m.
No. 2 San Diego vs. No. 7 Portland, 1 p.m.
No. 3 Santa Clara vs. No. 6 Loyola Marymount, 3 p.m.