SANTA CLARA, Calif. - After a rainout delayed the previously scheduled conference opener in February, the Santa Clara men's tennis team is slated to open up West Coast Conference play this Wednesday against the University of San Francisco. The Dons and Broncos will begin their mid-week match at 3 p.m. at the Degheri Tennis Center.
In the past 10 years, the local rivals have faced off against each other 17 times, either in regular season play or at the WCC Championships. The Broncos hold the edge, winning 10 of those matches and five out of the last six matchups.
In this year's WCC Preseason poll, the Broncos were picked to finish third in the highly-competitive conference. The Dons were picked to finish in seventh place.
The Broncos
After being away from the courts for a week and a half, the Broncos return to the Degheri Tennis Center boasting a 4-4 record on the year. Their last competitive action came two weekends ago when they fell to the University of Nebraska and the University of Oregon on the road.
Santa Clara will look to ride the performances of its veterans against the top heavy lineup Dons' lineup. Ashot Khacharyan headlines the Broncos' roster with his 12-3 singles record. The junior has won five out his last six matches playing exclusively at the No. 1 singles position. In his last outing against USF, the righty downed Filip Vittek 6-3, 6-3 in the WCC Championship Quarterfinals last season.
Khacharyan's neighbor on Court 2, senior Ilya Osintsev, has been racking up victories over the past three and a half years of action. The lefty needs just one more singles victory to solidify his name in the top 10 on Santa Clara's all-time singles wins list. Osintsev also rolled in his most recent matchup against a USF opponent. At last year's WCC Championships, he cruised to 6-3, 6-2 victory over the Dons' Nils Skajaa.
At the No. 3 singles position, the Broncos have enjoyed the consistent performance from Mikheil Khmiadashvili. The sophomore is 7-3 on the year and 5-2 in dual match play. Back in the fall, he rolled to a straight-set victory over USF's Johan Samuelsson at the Battle In The Bay Classic.
Rounding out the Santa Clara veterans is senior Sam Bertram. 5-5 on the season, Bertram is coming off a victory two weekends ago against Jayson Amos from Oregon. The Aussie will look to keep his momentum rolling against a USF squad that he has a 1-1 record against while wearing the Santa Clara red and white.
In doubles action, Khacharyan and Khmiadashvili are settling into their role as the No. 1 pairing. The recently assembled tandem of Eastern Europeans is 1-1 on the spring season.
Their teammates on Court 2, Osintsev and Bertram, boast a record of 4-2 on the year. However, they were defeated by USF's Skajaa and Bernardo Saraiva back on October 18 at the ITA Regionals.
The leader of Santa Clara, head coach Derek Mills, will look to capture his 100th career victory against the rival Dons.
San Francisco
The Dons enter Wednesday's matinee with a 5-3 record on the spring season. After starting out 1-3, USF has rattled off four consecutive victories, including wins over No. 70 University of California, Davis, University of California, Santa Barbara, and Fresno State University.
USF is 0-2 on the road and 2-1 competing at a neutral setting.
In their last match, the Dons took home the University of the Pacific Invitational crown after defeating the No. 43 ranked Lobos from the University of New Mexico on Sunday in Stockton, Calif.
Leading the Dons at the No. 1 singles position is unbeaten Saraiva. The 6-foot, 2-inch senior is 8-0 in dual match play and 14-3 overall this year. The Lisbon, Portugal native was a First-Team All-WCC Singles selection last season after compiling a 25-11 record.
His doubles partner, Skajaa, is 3-4 in the spring playing at the No. 2 position. Coming together in doubles, Saraiva and Skajaa are ranked No. 25 in the country and are 5-1 on the season. In their most recent match, the duo suffered their first loss of the season after falling 6-4 to New Mexico's No. 1 pairing.
James Tallman has primarily led the Dons at the No. 3 singles spot. The 6-foot, 5-inch redshirt senior holds an unblemished mark of 6-0 in dual match play.
Playing primarily at the No. 4 singles position has been Thomas Takemoto. The redshirt sophomore currently holds a 4-3 record competing at that position. Takemoto has paired with Vasco Valverde in doubles. The tandem is 2-3 while playing at the No. 2 position but hasn't competed at that spot since February 21. In USF's last three matches, Alex Santiago and Christian Brockstedt have handled duties at the No. 2 spot, going 1-2 in the process.
Be sure to check on SantaClaraBroncos.com for more on Santa Clara's performance in its WCC opener against USF. Stay up to date with everything men's tennis on Facebook, Instagram @santaclaramtennis, and Twitter @SCUmtennis. Go Broncos!
