March 11, 2009
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - In a match that came down to the wire, the Santa Clara men's tennis team was bested by No. 61 Michigan State, falling 4-3 to the Spartans.
The Broncos fought back in singles with strong performances from Jay Wong, Kyle Dandan, and Kenzo Hirakawa-Wong. Santa Clara falls to 2-5 this season.
"This was a very long, very tough match. We had a number of chances to win, but we're having trouble breaking through and taking advantage of opportunities," said Broncos' head coach Derek Mills.
On the doubles side of play, junior Jay Wong and senior Kenzo Hirakawa-Wong came away with the only win for the Broncos, outlasting MSU's John Allare and Jason Norville 8-7.
The match picked up in singles action. Wong and freshman Kyle Dandan picked up key singles wins for the Broncos at the number one and two positions, respectively. At the number three spot, Tommy Hicks forced his match versus Scott Rasmussen to three sets, but Hicks could not hang on for the win, falling 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. The final singles point for SCU came at the number four position where Kenzo Hirakawa-Wong won in three sets versus Spartan freshman standout Austin Brooks, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3.
"We came very close to beating a nationally ranked team, but we still have to work a little harder," said Mills. "We had a solid singles effort this afternoon and I'm proud of how our guys played. Hopefully we can make a turnaround this weekend against UAB and Northern Colorado."
The Broncos are back in action this weekend as they host UAB on Mar. 14 at 1 p.m., and Northern Colorado on Mar. 15 at 12 p.m.
Doubles
1. SCU Jay Wong / Kenzo Hirakawa-Wong def. MSU John Allare/Jason Norville 8-7
2. MSU John Stratton/Austin Brooks def. SCU Kyle Dandan / Tommy Hicks 8-3
3. MSU Alex Forger/Scott Rasmussen def. SCU Charlie Burke / John Iwanski 8-1
Singles
1. SCU Jay Wong def. MSU John Allare 6-0, 6-4
2. SCU Kyle Dandan def. MSU Alex Forger 6-4, 5-7, 7-6
3. MSU Scott Rasmussen def. SCU Tommy Hicks 3-6, 6-4, 7-5
4. SCU Kenzo Hirakawa-Wong def. MSU Austin Brooks 6-3, 5-7, 6-3
5. MSU Ron Hulewicz def. SCU John Iwankski 6-0, 6-4
6. MSU Jason Norville def. SCU Charlie Burke 6-0, 6-4
