by Gavin Hall, Santa Clara Athletics Media Relations Student Assistant
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Today was a day marked by celebration and illumination of the true strengths of the Santa Clara men's tennis program as the Broncos recognized their departing seniors and took down their West Coast Conference opponent LMU 4-0 to complete their regular season schedule and finish third in the conference standings.
For Santa Clara's last match, the Broncos held their annual Senior Day in which all of the seniors whose playing careers are coming to a close were honored. The five seniors include Nick Cmager, Santiago Hinojosa, Arthur Neuhaus, Jack Pulliam, and Mann Shah, who have all had impressive careers on the court and in the classroom as Broncos. Both Neuhaus and Pulliam will also return next year to serve in assistant coaching positions.
Beginning with doubles play, the duo of Shah and Hinojosa swiftly took care of their opponents Toky Ranaivo and Yassine Smiej with a 6-1 victory on Court 3. It would not be quite the same story on Court 2 as Pulliam and Christian Lerby dropped their match 6-2 against Arthur Pantino and Emin Torlic. The deciding match then came down to Court 1 where the Broncos came away triumphant as Neuhaus and Guillaume Dalmasso never ceased to continue fighting to win 6-3 against ohn Bryan Otico and Austin Di Giulioand take the early lead 1-0.
Moving on to singles play, it would not be a stretch to characterize the performance that the Broncos displayed as being pure dominance. Lerby started it off with a convincing win over Pantino going 6-3, 6-3, and showing why he can be a mainstay on Court 1. A flurry of wins followed Lerby's victory, beginning with the always passionate Dalmasso winning his match in even fewer games going 6-1, 6-3 on Court 2 over Torlic. The game clincher then came on Court 4 as Shah, who seemed to bring something else out on the court for his final match at the Degheri Tennis Center, took down Otico 6-1, 6-4.
The highlights of the match would not be complete without mentioning the battles on Courts 3, 5, and 6 in which Broncos put up spirited fights but their matches were cut short due to the clincher. After dropping his first set 1-6, Neuhaus quickly bounced back to win his second set by the same margin, 6-1, leaving the third set to decide the fate of the match on Court 3 against Smiej. Meanwhile, on Court 5, Pulliam similarly dropped his first set facing Di Giulio and was down in his second before mounting an inspiring comeback to bring the second set score to 4-2, which moved the Santa Clara fans in attendance. Finally, on Court 6, Hinojosa only needed one more successful game against Ranaivo to win his match as he was up 5-2 in his second set after winning his first set 6-2.
The feeling is bittersweet as these five exceptional Broncos leave their playing careers at Santa Clara behind. Their contributions to the men's tennis program have been immense and they will all serve as models for future Broncos to come. The team will take a short break from competitive play before gearing up for their conference's culminating event this coming week in southern California.
NEXT UP
The Broncos head to San Diego for the West Coast Conference Tournament (April 27-29) at Aztec Tennis Complex.
RESULTS
Santa Clara 4, Loyola Marymount University 0
April 23, 2023 at Santa Clara, Calif. (Degheri Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. Christian Lerby (SCU) def. Arthur Pantino (LMU) 6-3, 6-3
2. Guillaume Dalmasso (SCU) def. Emin Torlic (LMU) 6-1, 6-3
3. Arthur Neuhaus (SCU) vs. Yassine Smiej (LMU) 1-6, 6-1, 0-1, unfinished
4. Mann Shah (SCU) def. John Bryan Otico (LMU) 6-1, 6-4
5. Jack Pulliam (SCU) vs. Austin Di Giulio (LMU) 2-6, 4-2, unfinished
6. Santiago Hinojosa (SCU) vs. Toky Ranaivo (LMU) 6-2, 5-2, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. Arthur Neuhaus/Guillaume Dalmasso (SCU) def. John Bryan Otico/Austin Di Giulio (LMU) 6-3
2. Arthur Pantino/Emin Torlic (LMU) def. Jack Pulliam/Christian Lerby (SCU) 6-2
3. Mann Shah/Santiago Hinojosa (SCU) def. Toky Ranaivo/Yassine Smiej (LMU) 6-1
Match Notes
Loyola Marymount University 10-11, 3-6 WCC
Santa Clara 15-9, 6-3 WCC
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (1,2,4)
