LOS ANGELES - The Broncos men's tennis team needed a victory Saturday in order to keep its postseason dreams alive but those hopes were dashed after a 4-2 defeat at Loyola Marymount University.
Santa Clara (10-12, 3-5) was able to cut the deficit to just one point on two separate occasions but the 69th-ranked Lions (11-9, 4-4) finished the deal with a three-set victory on Court 2, leapfrogging the Broncos in the conference standings and eliminating them from the six-team conference tournament.
"Winning on the road in this conference is always a challenge," said head coach Derek Mills. "Even though we weren't able to punch our ticket, I am proud of the fight that our young squad showed all season long."
Leading 3-2 in the match, LMU's Cristobal Rivera was able to come back from a first set drubbing to upend Robert Seby by a score of 6-1, 6-4 in sets two and three, clinching the Lions' 11th victory of the year.
Prior to the clincher, the Lions and Broncos traded the first four singles matches. Andrew Gu's two-match winning streak came to an end on Court 3 after suffering a 6-3, 6-0 defeat to Errol Smith. Next door on Court 4, Connor Garnett came through with a 6-3, 6-3 victory to break his three-match slide and earn his 10th victory while playing at the fourth position.
Santa Clara's Sebastien Mathieu was unable to break his losing skid, falling 6-2, 6-2 on Court 6 but Ashot Khacharyan paid LMU back immediately after with a 7-6, 7-6 winner at the No. 1 position. With the victory, Khacharyan is now alone at the No. 9 spot on Santa Clara's all-time singles wins list with 61 victories to his name.
The Broncos will close out their regular season Sunday at 2 p.m. at home when they host the WCC-leading University of San Diego.
Parking & Admission: Admission is free to Degheri Tennis Center. Metered parking should be available in the Leavey Center lot (free on Saturday and Sunday), which is adjacent to the tennis center. Click here for a campus map and parking information.
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