Jan. 16, 2006
Santa Clara, Calif. - The Santa Clara men's tennis team opened up the 2006 spring season in fine fashion today, capturing two home victories at the Degheri Tennis Center over local rivals UC Santa Cruz and UC Davis. The Broncos defeated the Banana Slugs by a score of 4-3, thanks to their superior depth in singles, and the Aggies went down 5-0 in the second part of the doubleheader. Freshmen Brian Brogan and Tommy Hicks competed in their first collegiate dual matches with much success, as each won two singles matches apiece, while only dropping 11 games between them.
In the morning match, Kevin McQuaid and Blane Shields struck first for Santa Clara, taking an 8-4 win over Max Ortiz and Ilya Gendelman at the No. 2 spot. Santa Cruz evened the score with victory at the No. 1 position, as Matt Seeberger and Shane Templemann took out Jan Macek and Bobby Rasmussen 8-4. The doubles point was clinched after Brian Brogan and A.J. Kerin triumphed over Julian Sunn and Alexander Villalobos 8-4.
In singles action, Santa Clara's depth at the lower end of the singles line-up was apparent, as Tommy Hicks and Brian Brogan, at the No. 5 and No. 6 spots, respectively, quickly dispatched their opponents in straight sets to give their team the quick 3-0 lead. Shields gave the home team their fourth and final point after defeating Colin Mark-Griffin 6-2, 6-1 at the No. 4 position. Santa Cruz got their points after their players swept the top three slots in straight sets to account for the final margin.
"We got a good start with Santa Cruz. Our strength this season will be the middle to the end of the line-up and they more than held up their part of the bargain," declared head coach George Husack. "I thought overall we played a good match and solid throughout."
After about an hour later, Santa Clara returned to the courts again to face off with UC Davis. The Broncos got on the board first, taking the doubles point behind victories from their No. 1 and No. 3 spots. The home team continued to exert its dominance in singles, with Macek coming off the courts first on Court One, defeating Michael Chin 6-1, 6-0, while Bobby Rasmussen added to the Bronco total with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Henri Landes at the No. 3 spot. Hicks gave SCU the fourth and final point necessary to win the dual match with his 6-0, 6-2 rout of Bastian Bartels at the No. 5 position. Brogan won his second match of the day after his 6-4, 6-2 win over Kyle McMakin at the No. 6 spot. The two matches on Court 2 and Court 4 were not completed.
"Against Davis, our level of play went up a notch," explained Husack of the 5-0 drubbing. "The guys got a lot of the jitters out in the morning and responded really, really well in such a short time since we played back-to back matches. I was happy for the freshmen to get their dual matches out of the way."
The Broncos improves to 2-0 on the year after a successful debut this afternoon. Santa Clara returns to action on Saturday, January 21 when it travels to Los Angeles, Calif. to battle No. 20 Southern California for a 10 a.m. date.
Santa Clara 4, UC Santa Cruz 3
Doubles (Santa Clara clinches the doubles point)
1. Matt Seeberger/Shane Templemann (UCSC) def. Jan Macek/Bobby Rasmussen (SC), 8-4
2. Kevin McQuaid/Blane Shields (SC) def. Max Ortiz/Ilya Gendelman (UCSC), 8-4
3. Brian Brogan/A.J. Kerin (SC) def. Julian Sunn/Alexander Villalobos (UCSC), 8-4
Singles
1. Matt Seeberger (UCSC) def. Jan Macek (SC), 6-4, 7-5
2. Shane Templeman (UCSC) def. Kevin McQuaid (SC), 6-3, 6-2
3. Jared Kamel (UCSC) def. Bobby Rasmussen (SC), 7-6, 6-4
4. Blane Shields (SC) def. Colin Mark-Griffin (UCSC), 6-2, 6-1
5. Tommy Hicks (SC) def. Donny Divanian (UCSC), 6-0, 6-1
6. Brian Brogan (SC) def. Max Ortiz (UCSC), 6-1, 6-1
Santa Clara 5, UC Davis 0
Doubles (Santa Clara clinches the doubles point)
1. Jan Macek/Bobby Rasmussen (SC) def. Michael Chin/Justin Garcia (UCD), 8-6
2. Jordan Combs/Jayce Fitch (UCD) def. Kevin McQuaid/Blane Shields (SC), 8-4
3. Brian Brogan/A.J. Kerin (SC) def. Casey McMakin/Kyle McMakin (UCD), 8-4
Singles
1. Jan Macek (SC) def. Michael Chin (UCD), 6-1, 6-0
2. Kevin McQuaid (SC) vs. Jayce Fitch (UCD), 6-2, 4-6, 2-2, DNF
3. Bobby Rasmussen (SC) def. Henri Landes (UCD), 6-3, 6-1
4. Blane Shields (SC) vs. Daniel Elefant (UCD), 6-4, 2-2, DNF
5. Tommy Hicks (SC) def. Bastian Bartels (UCD), 6-0, 6-2
6. Brian Brogan (SC) def. Kyle McMakin (UCD), 6-4, 6-2
