No. 35 Santa Clara Falls to No. 20 Michigan in First ITA Kick-Off Weekend Match

BERKELEY, Calif. – In their first match of the competitive ITA Kick-Off Weekend, No. 35 Santa Clara fell 4-1 to No. 20 Michigan. The Broncos, now 2-1 on the season, battled in a hard-fought match, but ultimately the Wolverines' depth and experience was too much to overcome.

Santa Clara will play in the consolation match Saturday at 10 a.m. against the No. 38-ranked Boise State Broncos, who were defeated 4-1 by No. 14 Cal, the host team and top seed in the tournament.

After a perfect 2-0 opening weekend with wins over UC Davis and UC Santa Cruz, the Broncos faced a determined Michigan squad that was eager to avoid another tight match. In their season-opening match, Michigan was nearly upset by then-unranked TCU, however they came out firing on Friday.

The Wolverines took the doubles point, and Michigan's Evan King, a two-time ITA All-American and Big Ten Athlete of the Year in 2012, topped No. 65 John Lamble 6-4, 6-3 at No. 1 singles.

At No. 2 singles, Ilya Osintsev was defeated 6-3, 6-4 by No. 48 Vlad Stefan, a 6 foot 4 Romanian transfer from Maryland. Freshman Ashot Khacharyan, playing his second day of NCAA tennis, fell 6-3, 7-5 at No. 6 singles.

Tom Pham was victorious in dominant fashion, 6-1, 6-2, at No. 4 singles for the Broncos lone win of the day. Pham is now just five victories away from become the all-time leader in wins.

The singles matches for Eugene Muchysnki and Matt Kecki did not finish as the match was already decided.

Be sure to check back on SantaClaraBroncos.com for more on Saturday's match as the Broncos face the No. 38 Boise State Broncos at 10 am in an exciting showdown. Stay up to date with all Santa Clara men's tennis on Facebook and our new Twitter page @SCUmtennis!