Men's Tennis Senior Tom Pham Named to WCC First-Team All-Academic Team For Second Straight Year

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Santa Clara men's tennis senior Thomas Pham has been named to the West Coast Conference First Team All-Academic Team.  Already the school record holder in career singles wins, Pham carries a 3.60 GPA in Electrical Engineering.

"Tom does what he does," said Bronco head coach Derek Mills.  "He already has a job after graduation with Texas Instruments. It is his second year on the first team - he's the man!" 

At the conclusion of each athletic season, the WCC selects an all-academic squad for each WCC-sponsored sport. To be considered, a student-athlete must maintain at least a 3.20 cumulative grade point average, while also being a significant contributor to his/her team. 

Santa Clara travels to San Diego on Tuesday for the beginning of the WCC Tournament.  The Broncos fell in the semifinals 4-3 to USD in 2012. The Broncos will take on the ninth-seeded Gonzaga Bulldogs at 12:30 pm on April 24 at the Barnes Tennis Center. The two squads played a competitive match April 19 with Santa Clara squeaking out a 4-3 win. The winner of Santa Clara and Gonzaga will face either fifth-seeded USF or eighth-seeded LMU in the quarterfinals on April 25 at 12:30 pm.

The Broncos defeated both teams in the regular season by 4-3 finals. If the Broncos advance to the semifinals they would take on the tournament's top seed, Pepperdine, ranked No. 8 nationally. The tournament is single elimination and the Championship will take place on Saturday, April 27. 

Santa Clara is 16-9 overall and it went 4-4 in regular season WCC matches. The Broncos were 13-3 on their home courts, 1-5 on the road and 2-1 in neutral contests. In 4-3 matches, the Broncos are 6-3 with a current four-match winning streak.

In the win over Portland, the Broncos' strong effort netted them a 5-2 final and fourth place finish in the conference. After taking the doubles point each Bronco senior won his match to secure the win, and SCU added another victory later for the final 5-2 margin. Despite a 1-4 start in WCC play, Santa Clara won its remaining three matches.