SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Down 3-2 to the visiting Aztecs from San Diego State University, Santa Clara men's tennis gutted out two come-from-behind victories in singles to complete the Broncos' 4-3 comeback victory on Wednesday.
Helping keep Santa Clara's hopes alive, Ashot Khacharyan pulled out a marathon third set decision on Court 1 over Freddy Gelbrich, the 122nd-ranked singles competitor in the country, to tie the match at 3-all before Robert Seby rallied from a first set defeat as well as a late deficit in the second frame to win sets two and three, giving Santa Clara its eighth victory of the year.
"We really fought well as a team and I'm proud of all of us," said Seby.
A three set win for the Aztecs (6-11) on Court 6 gave SDSU the 3-2 advantage, putting pressure on Khacharyan to keep the Broncos in toe. The Sochi, Russia native fell in the first set but managed to regroup and claim the 6-4 decision in set number two. Following back and forth play in the third set and a number of ties, the match hung on the result of a tiebreaker. Battling, Khacharyan and Gelbrich found themselves even at 3-3. Both competitors would trade the next six points before the Santa Clara senior took control and put Gelbrich away 8-6 with a ripped forehand down the line.
"The main thing for me was to stay confident because from the beginning of the tiebreak I was only thinking about myself winning the match," said Khacharyan. "At five-all and 6-5, there were a couple of big shots I had to make and I think that confidence helped me win those points."
Seby finished off the Aztecs with his 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 win two courts over. Stuck in 3-0 hole in the second set, Seby would win 12 out of the next 15 games to claim the victory, his 10th of the year and Santa Clara's second in a row.
Before the heroics, Santa Clara found itself down in the beginning stages of the match. The Aztecs came out firing on Court 3 in doubles. Gelbrich and Marko Goles-Babic broke an early 1-1 tie and captured the next five games to claim the match. Seby and Connor Garnett responded with a 6-1 rout of their own to tie the match at 1-1. Playing in sync from the get go, the freshmen pairing hit a number of athletic returns and utilized precise placement throughout to clinch their seventh victory of the year.
With the doubles point coming down to the decision on Court 1, Santa Clara's Khacharyan and Andrew Gu jumped out to an early 2-0 advantage after breaking the Aztecs' serve. Rallying, Hendrik Jebens and Sander Gjoels-Andersen scored a number of painted corners returns to score a win in the next four games. The Aztecs would finish off two out of the next three games to win the match and the doubles point.
"(Coaches) just told us to stay on it, just forget about that doubles point and basically focus on our singles," said Gu. "At the end of the day, it was the best advice we got."
Gu kicked off the comeback with a 6-2, 6-3 decision playing against Milen Ianakiev on Court 2 to secure the Santa Clara freshman's 11th victory of the season and second in a row.
"I just stayed aggressive," he said. "I picked up my targets and basically played my game."
After SDSU's Santiago Cevallos handed Khan a loss on Court 5, Garnett kept the Broncos alive next door at the fourth position. Splitting the first two sets, Garnett pressed forward and led through and through en route to a 6-2 third set decision, his team-leading 12th victory of the year.
Now with two consecutive victories under their belts, the Broncos will look to capture more when they travel to face West Coast Conference foes in the Pacific Northwest this weekend.
"This is a big win," said Kharcharyan. "This is a big boost in confidence for us. It's always great to win close matches like this."
