SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Hitting the road for its first conference match away from the Degheri Tennis Center, the Santa Clara men's tennis team will play against Gonzaga University on Friday and the University of Portland on Sunday.
Santa Clara (8-8) has dominated both programs during the Head Coach Derek Mills era, posting a combined 11-3 mark against the Bulldogs and Pilots during that eight year span. This year's action will kick off at 2 p.m. on Friday when Santa Clara faces Gonzaga before Saturday's 10 a.m. meeting between the Broncos and the Pilots.
"We are coming off two strong performances where the guys came out and played at a high level all the way around," said Mills. "We need to ride that momentum in these tough conference tests and keep the winning going."
Santa Clara
Fresh off two home victories against Saint Mary's College and San Diego State University, the Broncos are looking to tie their longest winning streak of the season since the first three matches of the spring.
Back in the lineup against the Aztecs in the Broncos' last outing, Ashot Khacharyan found his winning form with a third set tiebreaker victory against a ranked opponent, his first such victory of the season. Last year, the then-Santa Clara junior bested both Gonzaga and Portland in comfortable straight set fashion.
Resuming control at the second position, Andrew Gu enters the weekend on a three-game winning streak and has six wins in his last nine appearances, the best mark for any Bronco during that span.
Returning to the third position against SDSU, Robert Seby will be riding the momentum from a match-clinching victory into the Pacific Northwest. The freshman has played his best tennis at the No. 3 spot this season, posting a 4-1 mark. Just next door on Court 4, Santa Clara's success continues as Connor Garnett has won his last two matches and leads all Broncos with 12 victories in 2015-16.
The backend of Santa Clara's singles lineup has not experienced as much fortune as of late. Cooling off since his 6-2 start to the season, Kamran Khan has posted a 1-4 mark in his last four matches. Sebastien Mathieu, playing No. 6, has been held winless in his last six outings.
In doubles, seven out of Santa Clara's eight victories this season have come after the Broncos have sealed the doubles point. For the entirety of the spring season, the Broncos have continued to rely on the performances put forth by Garnett and Seby. The duo is 7-2 on the year and winners of its last two matches. Rotating back into the No. 1 spot against the Aztecs, Khacharyan and Gu returned with a loss, dropping their record back to 4-4. Despite a strong start to their freshmen campaign, Khan and Jeffrey Liang have been unable to find their form as of late at the No. 3 spot, falling in five straight appearances.
Gonzaga
Entering the weekend just 3-11 on the season, the Bulldogs have just one win under their belts since late January. In WCC play, Gonzaga is winless at 0-4.
Despite Gonzaga's woes, Ruadhan O'Sullivan has faired well playing atop the singles rotation. The freshman is 10-4 this season and 1-1 since taking over at the No. 1 position. Similarly, Jordan Smith has found success at the No. 2 position. The freshman leads the team with 15 wins on the year and recently took home WCC Player of the Week honors after taking down Filip Vittek from No. 31 University of San Diego.
Starting the year at the top position, Hayden Smith now assumes control of the third position in the lineup. The fourth year player is 3-9 in dual match play and 0-1 on Court 3. Next door, Emilio Moreno has struggled to find his form, falling in his last three contests.
Vicente Varas and Ronzai Saurombe round out the Gonzaga singles roster. Both competitors are a combined 4-10 at positions five and six.
In doubles, the Smith-Smith pairing and Hayden and Jordan leads all Bulldog duos with 11 wins on the year. Gonzaga's tandems on Courts 2 and 3 have not faired as well, combining for six wins to go along with 13 losses.
Portland
1-2 to start conference action, Portland returns home after a five-match road trip. Before hosting the Broncos, the Pilots will challenge the Dons from the University of San Francisco on Friday.
One of four 10-match winners to date for the Pilots, Mike Pervolarakis leads Portland at the No. 1 singles position. The 6-foot, 4-inch sophomore is 10-4 at the top spot with seven wins coming in form of straight set decisions.
Taking over control at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions, brothers Mathieu and Pierre Garcia have a combined mark of 16-13 at those spots. Despite their winning records, both competitors are currently suffering through three-match winning skids.
Positions four and five belong to Alex Wallace and Felix Fan respectively. Wallace is 6-3 at his position and Fan is just behind at 5-2. Carlos Donat, playing No. 6 singles, is statistically Portland's best competitor. The freshman is 10-2 on the year with a number of straight set routs to his name.
Over in doubles, Portland's success continues at all three spots. At the No. 1 position, Pervolarakis and Mathieu Garcia are nearly perfect at 7-1 on the year and are currently riding the momentum from a three-match winning streak. On Courts 2 and 3, Wallace and Kent Andreasen along with Fan and Pierre Garcia are 3-1 while playing together.
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