SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Wrapping up another season of high-octane tennis competing against a number of quality opponents, the Santa Clara men's tennis team finished the 2014-15 campaign with nine team victories, a couple of upsets over ranked opponents, and a number of individual accolades.
"I am proud of how the way the guys fought day in and day out this season," said head coach Derek Mills. "Although we had our ups and downs, it was a pleasure to coach this stellar group of young men. I wish our seniors nothing but the best as they move forward. I am also excited to work with our returners and incoming student-athletes in the days ahead. The future is bright for our program."
Santa Clara kicked off its 2014-15 season by splitting up and competing in two tournaments in the city by the bay in early October. Bertram and Khmiadashvili took the stage in San Francisco to complete at the Battle In The Bay Classic where they both successfully captured victories in their opening matches of the season. Just a few miles away, Osintsev and Khacharyan battled at the Mount Tam Invitational against high-profile junior and professional players. Both Broncos also came away with victories in their first matches of the new season to start the year on a high note.
The following weekend, the Broncos made the quick trip to Stanford University to take part in the annual ITA Regionals event. Competing against players from across the Northwest Region, Santa Clara made a name for itself behind the impressive play of Khacharyan. The Sochi, Russia native dominated the field in singles action en route to reaching the finals. During his tournament run, Khacharyan cruised to three consecutive two set victories, including a 6-2, 6-2 drubbing of Stanford's Maciek Romanowicz, the No. 2 seed in Khacharyan's bracket. Khacharyan hit a couple of speed bumps in the round of 16 and quarterfinals, but managed to regain his composure and down his opponents in three sets. In the semi-finals, Khacharyan shined after waiting through a two-and-a-half hour rain delay. The junior was firing on all cylinders and bested Gonzaga University's Alvaro Nazal 6-1, 6-3 to clinch his spot in the singles final. Pitted against Stanford's freshman phenom Tom Fawcett in the final, Khacharyan opened the match with promise. He captured the first set 6-3 but was ultimately defeated in sets two and three.
After a winter hiatus, the Broncos opened up the dual match season with a double header against the University of California, Santa Cruz and Sonoma State University in mid-January. The newly paired tandem of Michael Standifer and Max Heerinckx ignited the Broncos early on in both matches to help the Broncos cruise to 4-0 victories in both matches.
The following weekend, Santa Clara traveled down to Southern California to partake in the ITA Kick-Off. Pitted against No. 50 University of North Carolina at Wilmington, the Broncos came away with the come-from-behind 4-2 victory. Santa Clara fell behind in doubles but responded with victories by Sebastien Mathieu and Michael Standifer at the No. 3 position and Khacharyan and Osintsev at the No. 1 spot. With the doubles point secured, the Broncos once again found themselves in a hole after dropping the first two singles matches. With work to be done, Osintsev rolled to a straight-set victory, Khmiadashvili pulled away in a tightly-contested three set match and Bertram put the finishing touches on the upset with a 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 victory.
The following afternoon, the Broncos challenged the No. 1 team in the nation, the University of Southern California, in the championship match but were unable to dethrone the high-powered Trojans.
After the loss against USC, Santa Clara struggled to regain its winning ways, falling in six out of its next seven matches. The lone victory came in comeback fashion against the visiting Bulldogs from Fresno State University. Despite dropping the first three points of the day, Santa Clara's veteran workhorses stormed back to tie the score at 3-3. Khacharyan rolled to a 6-2, 6-3 victory on Court 1 to secure his fourth victory in a row, Osintsev bested Adam Glynn 6-1, 6-4 to also add another victory to his singles winning streak, and Bertram downed Youseef Hassan 7-5, 6-2. With the match decision coming down to the result on Court 3, Khmiadashvili lifted the Broncos to victory with a 6-3, 7-5 winner over Eric Komati.
Despite another confidence boosting victory over a quality opponent, the Broncos were unable to maintain much rhythm going forward. Travelling to Eugene, Ore., Santa Clara challenged the high-flying Ducks from the University of Oregon and the Cornhuskers from the University of Nebraska but fell in both matches of the back-to-back weekend event.
Following a conference opener loss to the University of San Francisco and a winless road trip to Utah, the Broncos got back on track with a historic 5-2 victory over Holy Names University in late March. Santa Clara captured the doubles point, three upperclassmen came away with victories in singles, and Sebastien Mathieu downed Jonah Tahilan in a third set tiebreaker to tally his first collegiate victory in singles play. With the win, Mills notched his 100th career victory as the leader of the Bronco squad.
After a challenging conference slate during the end of March and the beginning of April put the Broncos at 5-11 on the season, Santa Clara closed out the regular season playing the best tennis it had all season, winning four of its last six matches. Playing against their local rivals from Saint Mary's College, the Broncos blew away the Gaels handily. Although the match finished with Santa Clara winning 4-3, the Broncos clinched the doubles point and won three consecutive matches courtesy of Khacharyan, Osintsev and Bertram to steal the victory on Senior Day for Saint Mary's.
Five days later, the Broncos utilized a similar formula to knock off the visiting Hornets from California State University, Sacramento. Bertram and Osintsev, fresh off winning WCC Doubles Team of the Week, routed their opponents by a score of 6-1 while the other two Broncos tandems outlasted their opponents 6-3, solidifying yet another doubles point victory for Santa Clara. Transitioning to singles, Osintsev and Khacharyan provided the fire power with straight-set victories and Mathieu finished things off on Court 6 to give the Broncos a mid-week victory heading into the final weekend of regular season action.
Hosting Gonzaga University on Senior Day, Santa Clara's senior pairing of Bertram and Osintsev burst out of the gates with a 6-1 throttling of Gonzaga's No. 1 pairing of Hayden Smith and Vladimir Mijatovic. Khacharyan and Khmiadashvili followed suit shortly thereafter with a 6-2 winner over Nazal and Nick Kamisar to give the Broncos the doubles point victory. Once again, Santa Clara captured victories on Courts 1 and 2 in singles play and Mathieu stepped up to provide the match clincher with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Vicente Varas.
The following afternoon, the Broncos found themselves face-to-face with the No. 67 ranked Pilots from the University of Portland. After giving up the first doubles match on Court 3, the Broncos responded in the first two doubles spots to steal the first point of the match. In singles, both Osintsev and Khacharyan tallied their third victories in a row to put the Broncos ahead but the Pilots cut into the lead courtesy of victories in the middle and backend spots of the singles lineup, managing to knot the score at 3-3. With the decision coming down to Court 4, Khmiadashvili fought back-and-forth with Mathieu Garcia in a lengthy match lasting more than two hours. The Santa Clara sophomore grabbed the first set 7-5, fell in second set, but rallied to win in a third set tiebreak to secure the upset and end Santa Clara's regular season on a high note.
Just a few days later, the Broncos switched gears and headed to San Diego, Calif. for the WCC Championships. Pinned against Gonzaga in their first round matchup, the Broncos were unable to duplicate their previous success against the Bulldogs and were ultimately defeated by a score of 4-0.
Individual Notes and Accomplishments
Khacharyan led the squad with 19 singles victories on the year, 14 of those coming in the form of straight-set wins. During the season, the junior tallied win streaks of six matches, five matches, and ended the season as a winner of three-straight at the No. 2 spot. Back in the fall, the Sochi, Russia native dominated his competition at the ITA Regionals en route to an appearance in the finals match. In doubles, Khacharyan split time with Osintsev and Khmiadashvili throughout the year. Down the back stretch of the season, Khacharyan and Khmiadashvili found their groove and rattled off five consecutive victories while playing at the No. 2 spot.
Osintsev, playing his final year of tennis at Santa Clara, increased his career singles wins total to 65, good enough for seventh place on the all-time singles wins list in Santa Clara history. This season, the senior finished with a 15-6 record overall and 13-3 mark in dual match play. Due to his stellar play during the latter half of the season, the lefty earned WCC Player of the Week honors in singles on March 12. In doubles, Osintsev partnered with Bertram. The senior duo led the squad with 11 doubles victories and finished their time on the Mission Campus winning their last six matches. During that torrid stretch of play, the duo earned the WCC Doubles Team of the Week honors on April 14.
Playing primarily at the No. 3 singles spot, Khmiadashvili rounded out his sophomore campaign with an even record of 9-9. The Tbilisi, Georgia native found his winning ways early on this season, winning two out of three matches in fall competition and opening up dual match play with victories in five out of his first six results. Despite experiencing some woes later on, the sophomore provided with the Broncos with one of the most important victories of the year, clinching the match and upset over the Pilots from Portland on April 19.
Bertram, finishing up his brief two-year stay with the Broncos this season, recorded a record of 9-14 in singles play. Despite his record, the Aussie provided Santa Clara with a number of important victories this season, including a match clincher against UNC Wilmington. He also paired with Osintsev in doubles and helped the Broncos capture a handful of doubles points.
Freshman Sebastien Mathieu, despite struggling early on during his first year as a collegiate student-athlete, finished the season strong, winning two out of his last three matches.
