SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Playing three matches in two days at the Mountain Pacific Invitational, the Santa Clara men's tennis team rallied from a winless Friday to grab a 4-0 victory in it's final match on Saturday.
The Broncos fell in two heartbreaking matches by a 4-3 decision on the first day of the tournament at the hands of Grand Canyon University and the University of San Francisco before sweeping the University of Hawaii on the final day of action. Following this weekend's results, Santa Clara is now 6-6 on the season.
"Friday was a tough pill to swallow after falling in two matches that we could have come away with," said Head Coach Derek Mills. "Fortunately, we salvaged a victory on Saturday to end the weekend on a high note."
Match No. 1 – Santa Clara vs. Grand Canyon
Opening up play Friday afternoon against Grand Canyon, the Broncos jumped out to an early 2-0 lead after clinching the doubles point and securing a 6-1, 6-3 singles decision on Court 1 courtesy of Ashot Khacharyan, the senior's seventh win of the year and second in a row.
The Lopes would fight back and capture two straight set victories over Sebastien Mathieu on Court 6 and Connor Garnett at the No. 4 spot. Seizing momentum, Grand Canyon jumped out in front for the first time all afternoon after Felix Schueller defeated Andrew Gu 7-5, 6-3.
Santa Clara's Robert Seby kept the Broncos alive in a two-set match that featured a total of 25 games played. The freshman managed a 7-6 winner in the first set before sealing the deal with a 7-5 result in the second.
With the match forced to a final decision on Court 5, Kamran Khan's early momentum was cut short. Holding a first set win in his pocket, the Dallas, Texas was upended 7-6, 7-5 in the final two sets, handing the Lopes their eighth win of the season and dropping Santa Clara to the losing side of the tournament bracket.
Match No. 2 – Santa Clara vs. USF
Coming off the heartbreaking loss to the Lopes, Santa Clara came out sluggish against USF in it's second match of the day, dropping the doubles point after consecutive 6-2 Don victories at the No. 1 and No. 3 positions.
The Broncos would stage a comeback courtesy of its freshmen in the heart of the singles lineup. Garnett cruised to a 6-1, 6-2 rout of Thomas Takemoto and next door on Court 5, Khan finished off Tynan Maguire 6-4, 6-3. Despite taking control from their West Coast Conference foes, the remaining Bronco competitors were unable to feed off the two winning performances.
Khacharyan dropped his match to Nils Skajaa in straight sets and Gu fell in a lengthy three set contest by a score of 4-6, 7-6, 6-4.
Once again, Seby kept the door open with his 6-7, 6-3, 7-5 come-from-behind victory but heartbreak would plague the Broncos again in final singles match. Clawing back after a first set defeat, Mathieu evened the match following his 6-3 win in the second frame. Battling back and forth in the third, Woravin Kumthonkittul escaped with a tiebreaker victory in the final game to clinch the Dons' win.
Match No. 3 – Santa Clara vs. Hawaii
Eying a response on Saturday, Santa Clara came out firing against Hawaii in a match that began with singles play first.
Seby completed an unbeaten weekend performance with a 6-0, 6-2 rout of Marcel Chan, his win third win in a row. Khan took home his second consecutive victory with a 6-1, 6-2 drubbing of Joakim Pinola. Garnett followed suit with a 6-4, 6-1 winner on Court 4.
With just one more match needed to clinch the Santa Clara victory, Gu provided the answer with the fourth and final straight set victory, defeating Igor Kolaric 6-3, 6-3.
