By Brandon Rebboah 

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - After a strong two-win opening weekend, the Santa Clara men's tennis program will take a short trip to Palo Alto, Calif. to participate in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's (ITA) Kickoff Weekend. The No. 50 Broncos will open the weekend against No. 48 Boise State on Friday, Jan. 27 at 11 am. On Saturday, the Broncos will await either fellow WCC opponent No. 64 Saint Mary's or No. 6 Stanford.

At the Net - Jan. 27 & 28, 2012
Jan. 27, 2012
Santa Clara vs. Boise State • Taube Tennis Center (Palo Alto, Calif.) • 11 am

The Broncos
No. 50 Santa Clara enters its second week after posting two 7-0 victories over both UC Santa Cruz and UC Davis. Every Bronco picked up a win in the opening weekend … senior Kyle Dandan picked up a decisive win over UC Davis's Toki Sherbakov … international senior Nicolas Vinel (Joinville, France) continues to be an interregnal piece to the squad. Vinel posted strong numbers in the fall season, advancing to the semi-finals at the Gael Classic in Moraga, Calif. and finished the first weekend of the spring season with a 2-0 record … juniors Eugene Muchynski and Tom Pham both produced for the Broncos in the opening weekend. Muchynski picked up two wins to improve to 3-2 overall in his 2011-12 campaign, while Pham also took two opponents in two straight sets … sophomore John Lamble is currently tied for the most wins on the team (5) after a strong opening weekend and fall ... Kyohhei Kamono improved to 3-2 overall in 2011-12 … freshman Ilya Osintsev, just added to the roster last week, faired well in his first NCAA singles match picking up a 6-2, 6-0 victory against Andre Halabi of UC Santa Cruz.

All-Time Highs
Just two weeks into the spring season, Santa Clara has already been setting all-time marks this season. The Broncos began the season at a school-best No. 50 in the ITA preseason rankings, the highest ever to begin the season … the doubles tandem of Vinel/Dandan opened the fall with the best ever doubles ranking in school history as the nation's No. 37 tandem.  

Global Perspectives
The Bronco tennis program has players and coaches from seven countries, including players from five countries and two international coaches … the SCU roster boasts players from five different countries including the United States, France, Japan, Russia and the Philippines … the coaching staff is also a mix of internationals including first-year assistant coach, Jose Hilla who is from Oviedo, Spain, and third-year assistant Jakub Cech is from Prague, Czech Republic.

Boise State
Boise State, also the Broncos, enter the ITA Kickoff Weekend after picking up two wins at home against then-No. 62 Saint Mary's and Eastern Washington … Boise State opened the spring season one spot ahead of Santa Clara as the nation's No. 49  team … Boise State is coached by Greg Patton, who is in his 17^th season as the head coach for Broncos … Patton recently helped coach the UTSA National Team to a Word Championship in France … BSU players Damian Hume and James Meredith both started the spring season in the ITA's individual top-35 … Hume was ranked No. 25 and Meredith was ranked No. 31.

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Be sure to check back to SantaClaraBroncos.com this weekend for recaps from Palo Alto Calif.