SANTA CLARA, Calif. – The No. 67 Bronco men's tennis team got back to its winning ways against Willamette on Friday and it looks to pick up more victories during the season's home stretch. Santa Clara is ranked No. 67 nationally in the latest ITA poll and has an 11-4 record in 2014. The team is 8-1 at home, 2-3 on the road, and 1-0 at neutral sites.
Santa Clara is 2-2 in WCC matches with wins over Gonzaga and USF. This weekend marks the squad's first home WCC matches, as all four of the team's conference contests thus far have come on the road.
In this weekend's action, the Broncos will face a pair of WCC opponents. No. 55 University of San Diego will come to town on Fri., Apr. 4 at 12pm and Santa Clara will battle BYU on Sat., Apr. 5 at 1pm. Both matches will be held at the Degheri Tennis Center.
The Broncos
In their most recent match against Willamette, the Broncos rolled from start to finish, making quick work of the visitors in a 7-0 final. Back on its home courts, Santa Clara took care of business and added to the win column. The team dropped matches to LMU and Pepperdine in Southern California earlier in the week.
Santa Clara's No. 1 duo of John Lamble and Ilya Osintsev has been terrific during the 2014 dual match season. Their record is 11-1 and they have garnered WCC Doubles Team of the Week honors.
The tandem has won 17 of 19 matches including fall play, and Lamble and Osintsev are 16-1 in their last 17 dual matches dating back to the end of last season. They have 33 total victories across their Santa Clara doubles career together, which is the second-most victories by one team in program history.
In singles, Lamble has been stellar as the top Bronco once again. The senior is 8-1 during the regular season and 15-4 including the fall. For his career, Lamble is an exceptional 75-35 overall, and he is tied with Francisco Zepponi for second-most wins in program history.
Osintsev, now ranked No. 124 nationally, has been outstanding during the 2014 season, and he is the lone Bronco who has yet to lose a dual match. The Russian is 9-0 in singles, all in the No. 2 position, and in his wins he has only been pushed to three sets twice. His overall record is 13-2.
Following a breakout freshman year, Ashot Khacharyan has been excellent in his sophomore campaign. He reeled off a seven match winning streak earlier in the season and his dual match record is 9-4.
Mikheil Khmiadashvili has made an immediate impact for the Broncos, both with his on-court performance and positive energy. The freshman from Tbilisi, Georgia stands at 9-4, mostly in the No. 4 spot.
Australian Sam Bertram has also made his presence felt during his first season as a Bronco. The junior, who transferred from Fresno City College, is 9-5 overall and 6-3 in duals, primarily at No. 5 singles.
San Diego
The University of San Diego Toreros are 8-7 overall and 3-0 in WCC play. San Diego nearly pulled off an upset of No. 31 Memphis last week, coming back from a 3-0 deficit to tie before the Tigers won the deciding match.
San Diego's No. 1 singles player, Clarke Spinosa, is ranked No. 59 nationally. He reached a career-high ITA ranking of 27 in the ITA rankings from Jan. 2, 2014.
BYU
The Brigham Young University Cougars are 7-12 overall and 1-3 in WCC play. In their most recent match, the Cougars fell in a heartbreaking 4-3 final to No. 48 Pepperdine. BYU was down 3-2 but evened up the match, however, Pepperdine won No. 6 singles 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7-2) to clinch the victory.
Follow SCU Tennis On Social Media
Check back on SantaClaraBroncos.com for more on this weekend's matches as the Broncos look to move up the WCC standings. Stay up to date with Santa Clara men's tennis on Facebook and Twitter @SCUmtennis. Go Broncos!
