SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Playing against its sixth ranked opponent of the season, Santa Clara was unable to control a 22nd-ranked University of Tulane squad at home on Tuesday afternoon, resulting in the Broncos' first home defeat of the season.
Santa Clara (6-7) pushed the doubles point to a deciding decision on Court 2 but Tulane (12-4) edged out the Broncos to take the early 1-0 lead. In singles, the Green Wave's high-powered attack would prove to be too much to handle. Two consecutive straight set victories at the backend of the rotation and a win from the No. 1 singles competitor in the country on Court 1 would clinch the match for the Green Wave. Three more victories in the heart of the singles lineup would grant Tulane the 7-0 sweep.
"Tulane is one of the best teams in the country so credit to them for coming out and getting after it," said Head Coach Derek Mills. "These matches against ranked teams are tough but we are learning how to compete against the best."
Locked in a highly competitive doubles portion, all three Santa Clara pairings jumped out early to gain a 2-1 advantage.
Over on Court 1, the team in control of the serve grabbed their game leading to an early 2-2 tie. However, Tulane's Dominik Koepfer and Chi-Shan Jao broke Santa Clara's serve to lead 3-2 and didn't look back, collecting the next four games and the match.
Santa Clara's Ashot Khacharyan and Max Heerinckx, playing together for the first time this season, provided a response on Court 3. The Bronco duo jumped out 4-1 but Tulane rallied to cut the deficit to 4-3. Able to break serve and go ahead 5-3, Santa Clara eventually claimed the 6-3 decision.
With the doubles point forced to a deciding result on Court 2, Kamran Khan and Jeffrey Liang found themselves in an evenly matched affair with Constantin Schmitz and Sebastian Rey. After splitting the first four games, Tulane went on a three game run to take a commanding 5-2 lead. Down but now out, Santa Clara broke one serve and captured two games behind their own serve to tie the match at 5-5. With the doubles point on the line, the Green Wave tandem regained momentum and grabbed the next two points to seal the deal.
Tulane continued to press with power and precision in singles play against a Broncos squad that was competing without Andrew Gu. Santa Clara's Liang, playing in his first ever dual match, was bested 6-1, 6-1 on Court 6. Next door on Court 5, Sebastien Mathieu couldn't break into the win column, falling 6-0, 6-2 resulting in his fifth straight loss. With a victory at hand, Koepfer, ranked No. 1 in the nation, provided a 6-4, 6-4 decision for the Green Wave after besting Khacharyan at the top singles position. Despite the loss, the Santa Clara senior stayed in the match with Koepfer, once leading 4-3 in the first set and once tying the score at 4-4 in the second.
Playing the match out, Khan fell 6-1, 6-4 while playing on Court 4. Robert Seby, competing against the 83rd-ranked Schmitz, stuck around but was outlasted in the end by a score of 6-3, 7-5. Closing out the match, Connor Garnett also kept his match close but couldn't quite pull the upset, falling 6-2, 7-6.
Up next, Santa Clara will open up West Coast Conference action with a home-and-home against the University of the Pacific and Saint Mary's College this Friday and Saturday.
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