SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Back in the win column after downing Holy Names University on Tuesday, the Santa Clara men's tennis team will look to continue its winning ways when it travels south to San Diego, Calif. this weekend for two road contests against top-35 opponents. The Broncos will lace it up on Saturday for a late morning match against San Diego State University before facing the West Coast Conference's second best squad from the University of San Diego on Sunday.
Last season, the Broncos cruised to a 6-1 victory over the Aztecs but fell to the eventual WCC Champions from San Diego on two occasions, once during the regular season and once during the conference championships.
The matchup against SDSU will be served up at 10:30 a.m. while the Broncos and Toreros will hit the courts the following afternoon at 2:30 p.m.
The Broncos
Santa Clara will arrive in Southern California with confidence after coming away with a victory in its last match earlier this week. With that victory, the Broncos are now 5-7 on the year, including 4-2 at home, 0-2 on the road and 0-2 in conference action.
The two upcoming matches will provide the Broncos with a challenging test on the road against two preeminent programs. In the past five years, the Broncos and Aztecs have met twice, splitting the matchups. During that same time period, the Toreros have won five out of seven matches against the Broncos.
Santa Clara continues to benefit from the performances of its upperclassmen. Ashot Khacharyan leads the squad with 14 singles victories on the year and has found his groove once again, capturing wins in his previous two outings. The Sochi, Russia native fared well against both San Diego squads last season, throttling SDSU's Freddy Gelbrich 6-2, 6-3 and rolling Filip Vittek from San Diego in straight-sets, 6-3, 6-3.
Khacharyan's Russian teammate, Ilya Osintsev, has been racking up victory after victory in recent time. The senior is currently riding a three match winning streak and is 8-2 so far this dual match season. In his last time out on the court, the lefty made quick work of his Holy Names opponent, cruising to a 6-3, 6-1 finish. Last season, Osintsev defeated San Diego State's Hunter Nicholas in three sets before falling and then leaving a future match unfinished against San Diego's Uros Petronijevic.
Fellow senior Sam Bertram is also coming off a victory after taking down Rafael Martinez from Holy Names by a score of 6-3, 6-4. With the victory, Bertram is back to .500 in dual match play. Last year, the Melbourne, Australia native won a nail-biting first set against San Diego State's Milen Ianakiev before rolling the Aztec competitor 6-1 in the next set.
Santa Clara's Sebastien Mathieu captured his first collegiate victory on Tuesday and will look to build off that performance when he takes the courts this weekend.
For the first time in over a month, the Broncos shifted around their doubles lineup significantly when they played on Tuesday. Osintsev and Bertram took over duties on Court 1 and came away with a 6-3 winner. A newly assembled tandem of Khacharyan and freshman Max Heerinckx also found the win column with a 6-4 victory competing on Court 3.
San Diego State University
The Aztecs come in at No. 35 in the national rankings, boasting a 12-5 record overall and a nearly unblemished mark of 12-1 competing on their home courts.
After starting off the dual match season with a .500 record of 3-3, the Aztecs found their form and have compiled a record of 8-2 since February 20. During that span, San Diego State knocked off five ranked opponents, including then-No. 21 University of South Carolina and then-No. 22 University of California, Berkeley.
In their last match, the Aztecs cruised to a 4-1 victory over No. 43 University of Denver last Saturday.
A number of Aztec competitors have eclipsed the double-digit victory mark in singles play. Gelbrich, ranked No. 111 in the nation, has carried the way for San Diego State at the No. 1 singles position. The 6-foot, 3-inch junior is 8-2 at that spot and 12-5 overall on the year. He is currently riding a four-match winning streak.
His German teammate, Thorsten Bertsch, also wields a 12-5 record on the year, including a nearly perfect 7-1 record at No. 2 singles. Another German native has also been carrying the weight next door on Court 3 for the Aztecs. Hendrik Jebens primarily competes at the No. 3 singles position and has tallied a 9-1 record at that spot in the lineup. To date, the top half of San Diego State's singles lineup has amassed a combined record of 34-8.
Marko Goles-Babic highlights the backend of the Aztecs' lineup with his perfect play at the No. 4 spot. The 6-foot, 5-inch sophomore is 10-0 competing on Court 4 and has not lost since February 1. Goles-Babic provided the clincher for San Diego State with a 6-2, 7-6(3) victory in the Aztecs' last match.
In doubles, Gelbrich and Jebens have combined to collect a 12-4 record playing exclusively at the No. 1 doubles spot. However, the No. 65 ranked tandem in the country dropped its last match against Denver, falling 6-2. At No. 2 doubles, four different Aztec pairings have suited up this season but have only combined to score a 5-10 record. Most recently, Bertsch and Jonas Meinzer played together at that position but were defeated 7-5. The German duo is now 3-6 in the spring. In the final doubles spot, Goles-Babic and Andranik Khachatryan have been unhittable as of late, racking up a five-match winning streak.
University of San Diego
The 2014 WCC Champions have kept up their momentum from last season's successes, compiling a 12-4 record overall this spring. The Toreros are ranked No. 21 based on the latest ITA Rankings and are unbeatable at home to date, posting a 10-0 record at the Skip and Cindy Hogan Tennis Center.
In their most recent outings, the Toreros have won four consecutive matches, including victories over then-No. 32 Princeton University and then-No. 33 Drake University.
The Toreros will play host to the University of San Francisco on Saturday before welcoming the Broncos on Sunday afternoon.
Petronijevic leads the way for the Toreros at the No. 1 singles position. The junior from Smederevo, Serbia is 17-10 on the year and 9-5 at the top singles spot. The 46th ranked singles competitor in the country is also riding a three-match winning streak after downing then-No. 42 Alen Salibasic from Drake University by a lopsided score of 6-1, 6-4 in his last match.
His European teammate, Filip Vittek, has also deservedly earned his No. 57 national singles ranking. The 5-foot, 9-inch sophomore leads San Diego with 19 wins on the year and a mark of 11-2 at the No. 2 singles position. He has also been on a hot streak as of late, amassing a record of 8-2 in last 10 matches, including a 7-5, 6-4 winner over then-No. 38 Ben Lott from Drake University in his last bit of action.
Rounding out the top half of San Diego's singles lineup is Jordan Angus. The Mississippi State University transfer is 11-2 competing at the No. 3 singles spot and has rattled off five consecutive victories.
The back half of San Diego's lineup has not experienced as much easy going. Six different Toreros have played in the four, five and six singles positions but have only combined for an 18-25 record.
Angus and Vittek have paired up in doubles and been the workhorses for the Toreros in that portion of the game. The No. 43 ranked doubles duo in the nation is 11-8 on the year and recently got back in the win column with a 6-3 victory over Drake University's No. 1 pairing. In the second doubles spot, Petronijevic and Romain Kalaydjian have posted a 7-2 mark and are riding a three match winning streak as of late. As a team, San Diego has a combined doubles record of 23-15 and has dropped only one match after claiming the doubles point.
Be sure to check on SantaClaraBroncos.com for more on the Broncos' performance against both San Diego squads. Stay up to date with everything men's tennis on Facebook, Instagram @santaclaramtennis, and Twitter @SCUmtennis. Go Broncos!
