SANTA CLARA, Calif. – With the dual match season in high gear, the Santa Clara men's tennis team kicks off a three-match road swing this weekend in the city by the bay. The Broncos (9-10, 2-3 WCC) will do battle with the University of San Francisco (4-17, 1-5 WCC) this Saturday at 1 p.m.
Not much has separated the Bay Area rivals over the past 10 years of competitive action. The Broncos and Dons have split the last 16 meetings up until the beginning of this season, however, USF bested Santa Clara 4-3 in March at the Mountain Pacific Invitational.
"This is the time to get ourselves back in the hunt," said Head Coach Derek Mills. "Our match against USF earlier this season could have gone either way. This time we need to show up ready to jump on them early and play with some urgency."
The Broncos
By the time the Broncos hit the courts on Saturday, they will have been held winless since the first of the month after suffering losses to the University of Portland and Brigham Young University in their last two outings.
Despite missing a small portion of the season, Ashot Khacharyan continues to lead the Broncos as the No. 1 singles player. Wearing the red and white, Khacharyan is 1-2 against Don competitors during his career.
Robert Seby and Andrew Gu have alternated at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions in recent time. Combined, they are 3-3 over the past couple of weeks.
Leading the charge through and through this season, Connor Garnett brings his 13-7 record to the courts this weekend. Earlier this season, he dominated Thomas Takemoto from USF by a score of 6-1, 6-2.
Since moving back to the No. 5 and No. 6 spots at the end of March, Kamran Khan and Sebastien Mathieu are a combined 1-5 with three of those matches coming in form of three three-set heartbreakers.
In doubles, Garnett and Seby suffered their first loss since March 25 in the match against BYU. The duo still leads Santa Clara with an 8-3 mark on the season. In the past two matches, the Broncos have sent out Gu and Khan to play at the second position and Khacharyan alongside Max Heerinckx to assume control of the third spot. Together, those pairings went 1-2 during that span.
USF
The Dons started 2016 with just one win in their first 11 matches. Despite rallying in March, they have returned to their underperforming ways as of late, having fallen in five consecutive matches. During that slide, the Dons have picked up just one point, a No. 6 singles victory against Gonzaga University.
Powering the Dons at the No. 1 singles position is Nils Skajaa, a 6-foot, 4-inch senior from Denmark. Skajaa took down Khacharyan earlier this year at the Mountain Pacific Invitational but has squandered five matches in a row, dropping his record to 6-12 in the spring. Playing next door on Court 2, Ryan Marker has been in a slump as of late as well, falling in four consecutive matches.
In the heart of the lineup, Vasco Valverde and Thomas Takemoto have switched off at the No. 3 and 4 positions in recent time. Together, both seniors are 0-4 in the last three matches.
Three different competitors have spent time at the final two singles positions as of late. Woravin Kumthonkittikul, a freshman, is second on the team with seven wins and was the only Don to pick up a singles win in the last three team matches.
In doubles, Skajaa and Valverde have played exclusively at the No. 1 position this spring, amassing a team-leading record of 7-7. Behind the senior-senior pairing, the production has fallen off. At the second position, six tandems have played together this spring resulting in just four wins. At the third spot, seven pairings have picked up five wins.
Connect with the Broncos on Social Media
