SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Despite battling the rain, the No. 50 Santa Clara men's tennis program picked up two wins on its opening weekend. The Broncos downed UC Santa Cruz and UC Davis to finish the weekend 2-0.

In the morning against UC Santa Cruz, all the Broncos bested their opponents to take the match 7-0. Santa Clara sophomore John Lamble opened the season as the No. 1 singles player for the Broncos, defeating Devin Nerenberg 6-0,7-5. In the second spot, senior Nico Vinel downed the No. 46-ranked player, Eric Koening, in straight sets. After just being added to the SCU roster, Ilya Osintsev picked up his first collegiate win with a 6-0, 6-2. In doubles, all three Bronco tandems won 8-6 to take the doubles portion without a blunder.

"The team fought hard through several guys being hurt and sick along with two rain delays," said Santa Clara men's tennis head coach Derek Mills. "We kept our energy and focus the whole day. 

In the afternoon dual match against UC Davis, Santa Clara again breezed to a 7-0 final. Kyle Dandan made his season debut as the No. 1 singles player picking up a decisive victory over Toki Sherbakov in straight sets (6-3, 6-3). The only Bronco defeat came in the double portions, where the Aggies picked up the No. 1 doubles match. UC Davis best the SCU tandem of Vinel and Maxime Aremgaud to pick up the only Aggie win.

The Broncos will travel just up the road to Palo Alto, Calif. to participate in the ITA Kickoff Weekend next weekend, Jan. 28 and 29. The Broncos first match will be against No. 49 Boise State. The rest of pool consists of the host,  No. 6Stanford, and No. 62 Saint Mary's.

"We will now get ready to play a great Boise State team on Friday," said Mills. "The team is really looking forward to the match."