SANTA CLARA, Calif. – The No. 74 Bronco men's tennis team continued its impressive run on Sunday, knocking off the No. 69 New Mexico Lobos, 4-1, for its sixth consecutive win. The Broncos were on fire during February, finishing the month with a perfect 5-0 record including several strong wins. The Lobos entered Sunday's match with four straight victories of their own, but had their winning streak snapped.

After a string of home matches, Santa Clara will hit the road for the first time in over a month when it travels north to face Gonzaga. The Broncos and Bulldogs will play on Sun., March 2^nd at 12pm. The match marks the start of West Coast Conference play for the Broncos, and it comes at a great time given the team's record performance.  

Santa Clara moves up to 7-1 overall with the win on Sunday. The team is 6-0 at home, 0-1 on the road, and 1-0 in neutral site matches. The Broncos are 3-1 against ranked opponents, with their only loss coming at national powerhouse USC, currently ranked No. 2 in the nation.

Santa Clara is on its longest winning streak since the 2012 squad, which made the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history, reeled off eight consecutive victories. The Broncos are also off to their best start in the last decade.

On a beautiful day at the Degheri Tennis Center, Santa Clara was on its game once again. The Broncos won the doubles point and pulled out two three-set singles victories, despite the efforts of the tenacious New Mexico players.

In doubles, John Lamble and Ilya Osintsev crushed their Lobo opponents at No. 1 by an 8-2 final. They got the Broncos on the board, and in the process notched their sixth win of the dual match season. The pair has not been beaten in a dual match, and is 7-1 overall including the fall season. Dating back to last year, Lamble and Osintsev have won 12 of 13 matches, with the lone loss coming in a tiebreaker.

The second doubles match was locked down by Sam Bertram and Ashot Khacharyan, who won 8-5 at No. 2. The duo is 5-1 in dual matches and 7-2 overall.

Besides the contest at No. 2 USC, Santa Clara has won every doubles point and every match this season.

During singles play, Santa Clara and New Mexico were closely matched, but the Broncos dug deep and prevailed in the end. Osintsev was first to finish, taking out his opponent 6-3, 6-3 in a quick match. The junior improved his record to 9-2 overall and a perfect 5-0 during the regular season.

After New Mexico earned the win at No. 5 singles, the remaining four matches were locked in tightly-contested battles. Santa Clara freshman Mikheil Khmiadashvili showed outstanding mental and physical toughness, dominating the second 6-1 and the third set 6-2, despite coming up just short, 7-5, in the opener. The lefty won his fourth consecutive match and is 4-2 overall.

Khacharyan clinched the Bronco win in the third singles position. After rolling during the first set, 6-2, he narrowly lost the second set in a tiebreaker, before rebounding well for the 6-2 third set victory. The sophomore from Sochi, Russia has the longest winning streak on the team at sixth consecutive wins, and is 8-2 in dual matches.

Bertram was in a strong position in the third set, and Lamble was at 5-5 in the second set against No. 89 Samir Iftikhar when the overall match was finalized.

Be sure to check back on SantaClaraBroncos.com for more on the No. 74 men's tennis team and its upcoming WCC matches! Stay up to date with Santa Clara men's tennis on Facebook and Twitter @SCUmtennis. Go Broncos!