SPOKANE, Wash. – The No. 42 Santa Clara men's tennis team continued its stellar play on Sunday by knocking off Gonzaga, 7-0, in the WCC opener for both squads. The Broncos are now riding a seven-match winning streak, and they kicked off March with another dominating performance after their perfect month of February.
The Broncos will next head up to the City by the Bay on Fri., Mar. 7 for an 11am matinee against the University of San Francisco Dons. The Dons will be hosting their WCC opener.
The Broncos now sit at 8-1 on the season. The team is 6-0 at home, 1-1 on the road, and 1-0 in neutral site matches. Santa Clara is 3-1 against ranked foes, with their only loss coming at the talented No. 2 USC Trojans. The squad is 1-0 in conference play.
The Broncos are now one win away from matching their longest win streak since the 2012 campaign. The 2012 squad made the only NCAA tournament in program history. The Broncos are also off to their best start in over a decade.
Santa Clara swept all of its matches against Gonzaga on Sunday afternoon. In doubles, Lamble and Osintsev remained hot with an 8-6 win. The duo remains undefeated in dual matches, with an exceptional 7-0 record. Dating back to last year, Lamble and Osintsev have won 13 of 14 matches, with their lone loss coming in a tiebreaker during the 2014 fall season.
Ashot Khacharyan and Sam Bertram locked up the doubles point for the Broncos, with an 8-5 victory. The tandem now stands at 6-1 in dual matches and 8-2 overall.
Santa Clara has won every doubles point this season except for at No. 2 USC. The Broncos' doubles success has played a huge role in their overall success, as they have not lost a match when winning the doubles point.
In singles, Santa Clara continued rolling. No. 1 John Lamble won in straight sets 6-3, 7-5 and has not yet lost a dual match this season. The senior upped his record to 6-0 during the regular season and 13-3 including the fall.
Ilya Osintsev, the reigning WCC Player of the Week, moved to 11-2 on the season as the Broncos No. 2 singles player, after fending off his Bulldog opponent 7-6, 6-3. Osintsev remained perfect in dual matches as well, and is now 6-0.
Ashot Khacharyan went on to win 6-2, 6-3 in the No. 3 position. The Sochi, Russia native is now 7-0 during the team's seven match win streak. In the No. 4 slot, Mikheil Khmiadashvili prevailed in three sets. After dropping his first two matches this season, the freshman picked up his fifth win in as many decisions.
Sam Bertram breezed to a 6-1, 6-2 victory in the No. 5 spot for the Broncos. The Aussie is now 7-2 on the season and 4-0 during the dual match season. This was his first appearance in the fifth spot after playing his previous matches at No. 6.
Santa Clara freshman Jesse Ross handed Gonzaga's No. 6 singles player his first dual match loss of the year, with a 6-4, 6-4 triumph. The win was Ross's first NCAA singles win, and was an excellent performance over a previously undefeated opponent.
Be sure to check back on SantaClaraBroncos.com for more on the No. 42 men's tennis team and its upcoming WCC matches! Stay up to date with Santa Clara men's tennis on Facebook and Twitter. Go Broncos!
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Position |
Gonzaga University |
Santa Clara University |
Winner |
Score |
|
#1 Singles |
Santa Clara University |
6-3, 7-5 |
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|
#2 Singles |
Santa Clara University |
7-6, 6-3 |
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|
#3 Singles |
Santa Clara University |
6-2, 6-3 |
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|
#4 Singles |
Santa Clara University |
6-2, 4-6, 6-3 |
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|
#5 Singles |
Santa Clara University |
6-1, 6-2 |
||
|
#6 Singles |
Santa Clara University |
6-4, 6-4 |
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|
#1 Doubles |
Santa Clara University |
8-6 |
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|
#2 Doubles |
Santa Clara University |
8-5 |
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|
#3 Doubles |
Unfinished |
7-5 |