March 7, 2009
MORAGA, Calif. - The Santa Clara men's tennis team fell to West Coast Conference rival Saint Mary's on Friday night, 5-2. With the loss the Broncos drop to 2-4 for the 2009 dual season, while the Gaels improve their record to 5-9.
The Broncos had a tough time from the start as they dropped all three doubles decisions, which set the tone for the rest of the match. While SCU made up for a slow start in singles play where Jay Wong, Tommy Hicks, and Kenzo Hirakawa-Wong force their matches to three sets, it was not enough to overpower Saint Mary's.
"I'm disappointed with the loss. We came out flat and lost all three in doubles and then couldn't capitalize on our opportunities to win in singles," said SCU head coach Derek Mills. "We had a good chance to win and I'm most disappointed that we didn't capitalize on our opportunities. Good teams capitalize and win in these situations, and hopefully we can learn how to win very quickly."
The Broncos are back in action at home this week, hosting Michigan State on Mar. 11, and UAB and Northern Colorado next weekend.
Doubles
1.SMC Lucas Tirelli/Maxime Olivan def. SCU Kenzo Hirakawa-Wong / Jay Wong 8-2
2.SMC Achim Christner/Sherif Hamdy def. SCU Kyle Dandan / Tommy Hicks 8-5
3.SMC SMC Leon Gavin/Mick Luck def. SCU Charlie Burke / John Iwanski 8-6
Singles
1.SCU Jay Wong def. SMC Lucas Tirelli 4-6, 6-2, 6-3
2.SCU Kyle Dandan def. SMC Achim Christner 7-5, 6-4
3.SMC Gavin Leon def. SCU Tommy Hicks 6-3, 3-6, 6-1
4.SMC Maxime Olivan def. SCU Kenzo Hirakawa-Wong 6-2, 2-6, 7-5
5.SMC Andrea Zannoni def. SCU Charlie Burke 6-2, 6-3
6.SMC Youssef El Boozkoori def. SCU John Iwanski 6-2, 6-1