SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Back on their home courts after suffering two road defeats against ranked opponents, the Santa Clara men's tennis team rallied to sweep the University of California, Santa Cruz 7-0 on Saturday, improving its record to 4-2 on the year.
After capturing the doubles point in two matches, three Santa Clara singles competitors from the backend of the lineup and the No. 1 position scored consecutive straight set victories to break a two-match losing skid and extend the Broncos home winning streak to four matches.
"Definite confidence boost," said freshman Kamran Khan. "We just took care of business. I think it was a really good for the guys to get the win."
Opening the match in doubles, the senior-freshman duo of Ashot Khacharyan and Andrew Gu set the tone with a 6-2 winner on Court 1. Courtesy of Khacharyan's serve, the Broncos jumped out to take a 4-1 lead. Continuing to work his serve and benefiting from wide return shots, Khacharyan and Gu sealed the deal and helped set up the Bronco pairing on Court 3.
"The very first game when we were love-40 down, we came back and we won that game," said Khacharyan. "That gave us some confidence in the beginning and then I think we both played pretty well today."
Over on Court 3, Jeffrey Liang and Khan roared to a 3-0 advantage in the early going. Despite a surge from their Banana Slug opponents, the freshmen tandem from Santa Clara pressed forward with an attacking mentality. With one more point needed to secure the doubles point, the Broncos blasted an unreturnable shot over the net, cementing the 6-3 victory.
Moving to singles, Khan extended the Santa Clara team lead with a rout on Court 5. Returning with pace and precision, the freshman opened up his match with a 3-0 advantage. With his opponent backed up and hitting return shots into the net, Khan grabbed the first set 6-0. In set number two, the Santa Clara freshman kept on the attack, once again finding a 3-0 lead early. Turning toward his serve, Khan pressed forward and grabbed the 6-1 result, earning his sixth victory of the year.
"I came out in singles, just played really aggressive," he said. "First couple balls in the point, I was thinking control. I just really was on offense from the beginning and stayed there."
On Court 6, Sebastien Mathieu collected his third victory of the season in identical fashion. The sophomore from London, England steamrolled Jake Ashdown 6-0 in the first set and kept the rhythm going in set number two. Mathieu controlled the first three points of the second frame, traded the next two and finished off Ashdown 6-1 to put the Broncos up 3-0.
"I was able to convert on all of the important points and my partner made some mistakes where it mattered so it helped me a lot," said Mathieu.
With one more victory needed, Khacharyan provided the clincher on Court 1. Finding himself in a back-and-forth match in the early going, the Sochi, Russia native held a 3-2 advantage. Forcing his opponent into return shots that ended up in the net, Khacharyan eventually collected the 6-2 result. In the second frame, Khacharyan fell behind 3-2. Settling down, the senior responded to take the next four points and the match.
"I think my overall game is improving slowly compared to the beginning of the season," said Khacharyan. "Today, my serve worked real well."
With the match decided, the Broncos and Banana Slugs finished out the remaining matches on Courts 2, 3 and 4. Moments after Khacharyan's win, Connor Garnett picked up his team-leading eighth victory by a score of 6-1, 6-3. Garnett's doubles partner, Robert Seby, followed suit with a 6-3, 6-2 winner on Court 2. Next door on Court 3, Gu capped the match with a 7-6, 6-1 victory.
"It was important to win so we could get our confidence back," said Khacharyan. "I think that's what we did and we're pretty happy with that."
Next up, the Broncos will travel to take on Tulsa University and the University of Arkansas next weekend.
"They're going to be two tough ranked teams down South," said Khan. "I think it's going to be a really good opportunity for us. Everybody has to buy into practice, be really focused and just push ourselves. We need everyone to play well because they're going to be close matches no matter what."
