DAVIS, Calif. – Two members of the Santa Clara University men's tennis squad are set to make their first appearances of the year at the Aggie Invitational hosted by UC Davis. Ashot Khacharyan and Sam Bertram will compete in the weekend event as they look to start the 2013-14 on a positive note.
Back for his sophomore season, Khacharyan will begin fall play with a match at 10:30am on Friday. The Russian will take on Jamin Ball of Stanford. Khacharyan is coming off a 14-2 rookie campaign where he made an instant impact in the No. 3 and No. 4 singles spots. He also played with several teammates in the No. 2 and No. 3 doubles positions. Ball was 4-11 overall and 2-3 in dual matches for the Cardinal last season.
Bertram will make his collegiate debut and first appearance as a member of the Santa Clara team. Bertram will play at 12pm on Friday in a matchup with Ayman Abdulwahab of Sacramento State. Abdulwahab, a freshman from Bahrain, will be making his NCAA debut as well.
The two Broncos will also play together as a doubles team, gaining valuable experience prior to the regular season which begins in January. They will compete with Chase Melton and Wyatt Houghton from Cal on Friday at 9am. The Golden Bear pair is seeded third in the doubles side of the tournament.
Friday will feature one doubles round and two singles rounds, meaning if either Bronco wins their first match they will have a second contest later that evening. On Friday, matches will take place both on the UC Davis campus and at nearby Davis High School. All weekend matches will take place at the Marya Welch Tennis Center on the main campus.
Check back here for the match results. Go Broncos!