SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Playing their best tennis of the season to date, the Santa Clara men's tennis team is set to challenge Gonzaga University in the first round of the West Coast Conference Championships on Wednesday afternoon.
The Broncos and Bulldogs will square off at noon down south in San Diego, Calif. at Barnes Tennis Center. The postseason action can be viewed courtesy of TheW.tv.
This past weekend, Santa Clara came out firing against the Bulldogs, capturing the doubles point and rolling in three singles matches en route to a 4-2 victory. Over the past 10 years of play, the Broncos have won 10 out of 12 matchups against their rivals from the Pacific Northwest.
The Broncos
Despite having their ups and downs during the beginning and middle portions of the 2015 campaign, Santa Clara has heated up at the perfect time, winning four out of its final five regular season matches.
After defeating Gonzaga on Saturday and upsetting the University of Portland the following afternoon, the Broncos storm into the conference tournament with a three-match winning streak.
Santa Clara's upperclassmen have been responsible for providing the winning spark. Senior Ilya Osintsev, a winner of three consecutive matches, has been nearly unhittable since taking over responsibility for the No. 1 singles spot in late March. Since that time, the lefty has compiled a record of 6-1 with all six victories coming in the form of straight-set blow outs. This past weekend, the Novosibirsk, Russia native rolled to a comfortable 6-1, 6-2 victory over Gonzaga's Alvaro Nazal.
Next door, Ashot Khacharyan has settled in on Court 2, dominating his opponents on a consistent basis. The junior is 19-6 this year and is also 6-1 since shifting to the No. 2 singles spot. On Saturday, Khacharyan made quick work of Gonzaga's Nick Kamisar, cruising to a 6-1, 6-1 rout.
Playing on Court 3 for the past two matches, Sam Bertram will look to get back to his winning ways while competing in the heart of the Bronco lineup. His fellow teammate, Mikheil Khmiadashvili, competing at the No. 3 or No. 4 spot in recent time, clinched a confidence-boosting victory over Portland on Sunday after battling to defeat his Pilot opponent 7-5, 5-7, 7-6(8). Breaking a five-match losing skid with that victory, the Santa Clara sophomore will look to keep his momentum rolling against the Bulldogs.
The final two singles spots have been handled by Max Heerinckx and Sebastien Mathieu down the back stretch of the regular season. Mathieu, winning two out of his last three matches, downed Gonzaga's Vicente Varas 6-4, 6-3 on Saturday to clinch the Bronco victory.
In doubles, the top two Bronco pairings have been dialed in and unbeatable as of late. Boasting a 10-5 record overall, Bertram and Osintsev have been dominant in the month of April, winning five out of their six contests. On Saturday, the senior duo breezed to a 6-1 victory over Gonzaga's Hayden Smith and Vladimir Mijatovic. Next door, the Eastern European pairing of Khacharyan and Khmiadashvili have been as equally impressive as their teammates on Court 1. Winners of five consecutive matches, the Bronco pairing bested Nazal and Kamisar from Gonzaga by a score of 6-2 over the weekend.
Gonzaga
In a much different fashion, Gonzaga enters the WCC Championships with just one win in its last seven matches. In their last bit of action, the Bulldogs were blanked by the University of San Francisco and then fell to Santa Clara the following afternoon.
The Bulldogs enter the conference championships as the No. 9 seed after going 10-10 on the year and 2-7 in conference play.
Nazal leads the squad at the No. 1 singles position and has compiled a mark of 11-7 record while playing at the top spot. However, the redshirt-junior has dropped two matches in a row. On Court 2, Kamisar holds a record of 9-7 while competing at the second spot in the Bulldog lineup.
Smith, coming off a 6-4, 7-5 victory over Bertram on Saturday, is 12-6 on the year while playing at the No. 3 spot. His teammate, Mijatovic, left his match against Khmiadashvili unfinished. The Bulldog senior is 10-7 while playing on Court 3 but is an even 4-4 in his most recent outings.
Sergio Chip and Vicente Varas round out the Bulldog lineup at positions five and six. Chip is 7-12 while playing at the fifth spot but is just 2-8 in his last 10 matches. Varas has also struggled as of late, tallying just one win in his last 10 contests.
Transitioning to doubles, Smith and Mijatovic have combined to play in doubles and are 8-7 while playing at the No. 1 spot. However, the Bulldog duo has lost its rhythm, falling in its last five consecutive matches. Nasal and Kamisar, handling responsibilities at the second doubles spot, are 14-6 on the year but have split their last 10 matches. Five different Bulldog tandems have suited up to play at the final doubles position this year. Most recently, Chip and Joey Brandt have tallied a .500 record of 2-2 but are winless in their last two matches.
Be sure to check on SantaClaraBroncos.com for more on Santa Clara's performance against Fresno State. Stay up to date with everything men's tennis on Facebook, Instagram @santaclaramtennis, and Twitter @SCUmtennis. Go Broncos!
