Posted: Apr 08, 2018
SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Senior Sebastien Mathieu capped off his final home contest with a match clincher to help Santa Clara tennis shut out No. 39 San Diego, 4-0, on Sunday. It was the second consecutive day that Mathieu clinched the match for the Broncos, who was honored before the first serve in a Senior Day ceremony.
"Today, we were firing at the doubles to earn that point, and during singles there were breaks everywhere with the crowd being very loud. I just stuck to my game plan throughout the match to come through for the team," said Mathieu.
Against the 39th-ranked team in the nation, the Broncos (11-8, 3-3 WCC) picked up the doubles point to get the ball rolling when Andrew Gu and Robert Seby took down No.63 doubles team of August Holmgren and Joel Gamerov, 6-4, on court No. 1.
"USD has won the conference championships the last four years and for us to respond, after losing a couple of tough matches on the road, is unbelievable. It shows the grit and determination of the team and of our coaching staff," said Broncos head coach Niall Angus. "San Diego is a very good, well-coached team. I'm really proud of the team today, it was a fantastic team effort."
In singles play, Connor Garnett kept the momentum going for the Broncos with a quick, straight set win over David Norfeldt, 6-0, 6-2, on court No. 4 to give Santa Clara a 2-0 advantage. The junior improved his team-best singles record to 14-3.
On court No. 2, sophomore Jesus Tapiador Barajas took care of Joel Gamerov, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) in front of the bleacher fans at Degheri Tennis Center, working them up in a frenzy with his energetic and vocal style.
Sensing a victory was near, the fans in the bleachers moved to the walkway next to court No. 6 to join the crowd that was already on hand to watch Mathieu's final home match.
The left-hander from London did not disappoint. Mathieu clinched the match with a forehand winner to beat Pratt Keerasuntonpon, 6-2, 6-3, to complete the shut out over the Toreros (10-8, 4-1 WCC).
Barajas won twice on the day, winning the doubles match paired with Vasileios Iliopoulos to defeat Keerasuntonpon and Nico Borter.
Santa Clara will play all its four remaining matches on the road, three of them conference matches against San Francisco, Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine. The Broncos will trek up the peninsula to play USF on Saturday.
HIGHLIGHT | Sebastien Mathieu's match-clinching point in @SantaClaraUniv's sweep victory over No. 39 San Diego in @WCCSports action on his senior day! Watch the full senior day ceremony here ▶️ https://t.co/ZyAGzfUzri #StampedeTogether #SCUBroncos pic.twitter.com/aEshWGanM1
— SCU Men's Tennis (@SCUMTennis) April 8, 2018
