Feb. 21, 2005
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The Santa Clara University men's tennis team defeated UC Santa Barbara 5-2 this afternoon at the Degheri Center to improve its season mark to 4-4. The Gauchos fall to 2-8 on the season.
Singles was played first, due to forecasted inclement weather. UCSB went up 2-0 with wins by Alex Anselme and Leo Basica at No. 1 and 6 singles, respectively. The Broncos countered, with wins by Bobby Rasmussen and Jan Macek on the fifth and second courts.
The final two singles contests extended into third sets, where Eric Kochanski shut out Elad Stern in the final frame to win on court four. Kochanski was down match point in the second-set tie-breaker, but hit an off-balanced cup volley winner to save match point, taking momentum from that point into a set-winner on the next serve.
 Eric Kochanski fought off match point to keep the Bronco rally alive.  |
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"It was great for us to bounce back after Saturday," head coach George Husack said. "It was also very nice to play outdoors, although conditions were brutal with heavy winds and the threat of rain. I think we started out our day slow emotionally, but found a way to battle back from an 0-2 deficit. Bobby had lost to Dalskov in the fall at our Bronco Classic, so that was a big win for him today, getting us on board and starting the comeback."
Santa Clara will play its next three matches on the road, visiting Fresno next weekend for contests against the host Bulldogs, as well as Rice University. The Broncos will also play at San Francisco on March 2 prior to returning home to the Degheri Center to open a three-match homestand against Hawaii on March 4.
Doubles
1. Bedilion/Macek (SCU) def. Brotman/d'Argence (UCSB) 8-2
2. Anselme/Dalskov (UCSB) def. Zepponi/Kochanski (SCU) 8-5
3. Ben Hidalgo /Rasmussen (SCU) def. Stern/Basica (UCSB) 8-6
Singles
1. Alex Anselme (UCSB) def. Taylor Bedilion (SCU) 6-4, 6-3
2. Jan Macek (SCU) def. Ivan d'Argence (UCSB) 7-6 (3), 6-4
3. Francisco Zepponi (SCU) vs. Nick Brotman (UCSB) 7-6 (4), 2-6, 6-3
4. Eric Kochanski (SCU) vs. Elad Stern (UCSB) 4-6, 7-6 (6), 6-0
5. Bobby Rasmussen (SCU) def. Anders Dalskov (UCSB) 7-5, 6-4
6. Leo Basica (UCSB) def. Tyler Wilson (SCU) 6-3, 6-1
