DAVIS, Calif. – Two Broncos made their 2013-14 season debuts at the Aggie Invitational hosted by UC Davis. Ashot Khacharyan and Sam Bertram kicked off their fall play in the weekend tournament with solid performances.
The Broncos each went 2-1 in singles and advanced to the semifinals. In doubles, the duo won two matches before falling in the semifinals.
Khacharyan was 14-2 last season, his first year on the Mission Campus, and picked up where he left off. The Russian beat Stanford's Jamin Ball 6-1, 2-1 (injury withdraw) and Sacramento State's Niranjan Ram 6-4, 6-2.
He advanced to the semifinals of his draw and faced Mads Engsted of Cal, ultimately falling in a tough three-set battle. After Engsted took the first set 6-3, the Bronco sophomore responded with a strong 6-4 second set to even the match. Engsted, the No. 2 seed in his draw, took the third set 6-3 to secure the win.
Bertram made his first appearance as a member of the Santa Clara team after transferring from Fresno City College. The Aussie defeated Sacramento State's Ayman Abdulwahab by a 6-4, 6-3 final and topped Mathias Olsen of St. Mary's 6-2, 6-3 to secure his place in the semifinals.
Bertram faced UC Davis' Parker Kelly, the second seed in their draw, but came up short in straight sets. Kelly moved on to the finals with the 6-1, 6-3 win.
The Bronco duo also had success in doubles and reached the semifinals of their draw. They came up with an 8-4 win over Cal's Chase Melton and Wyatt Houghton, the No. 3 seeded team. In their second contest, Khacharyan and Bertram bested Fresno State's Ethan Lopez and Nikolas Papic by an 8-4 final.
In the semifinals, they squared off against Oregon's Kevin Farin and Robin Cambier, the No. 2 seed. Despite their efforts, the Broncos fell 8-4 to the Duck duo, concluding the first fall tournament for Khacharyan and Bertram.