Written by Julia Baribeau '17
SANTA CLARA, Calif.- Junior, Ashot Khacharyan (AK) of the Santa Clara men's tennis team started the year off strong as he competed in the ITA Northwest Regional Championship. Santa Clara Broncos (SCB) chatted with Khacharyan after the tournament and learned what his experience was like as well as his goals for the upcoming spring season.
SCB: You were a finalist at the ITA Northwest Regional Championship – you said going in your goal was to win. Are you pleased with your performance otherwise?
AK: To be fair, I am not very pleased with the result because as I said before, I was going for the win. I would only be pleased had I won the tournament. But, looking at it from a bigger scale, it was still an OK performance.
AK: It was exciting being surrounded by all the players and supporting fans. Competing in tough matches was also very exciting because it felt like a professional tournament, which always feels good.
SCB: What is one goal you have for your upcoming spring season?
AK: My goal is to be No. 1 in the country with our team. I hope to win all the matches we can, making us players, coaches, fans and supporters of Santa Clara Tennis proud.
AK: Tennis has taught me to be tough, get through the pain and stress and push the limit all the time.
SCB: What is the funniest question people ask you about being from Russia?
AK: "Oh it must be cold out there right?" I always explain that I am from Sochi—a summer touristic city in Russia—where summers are really hot and winters rarely consist of snow. The weather is very similar to Santa Clara.