March 4, 2007
MORAGA, Calif. - The men's tennis team continued its great run with a 5-2 victory over Saint Mary's on Sunday at the Korth Tennis Complex. It was the seventh straight victory for Santa Clara, which is now ranked No. 64 in the nation. Jan Macek clinched the match with a comeback win in singles and the senior also teamed with Bobby Rasmussen to win a doubles match. The Broncos captured four singles matches and also won the doubles point.
Macek and Rasmussen got the day started with an 8-5 win over Adam Fauvre and Alp Ozpinar at No. 1, giving them 14 wins together this spring. After an 8-6 loss by Brian Brogan and Kevin McQuaid at No. 3 doubles, Robert Gallman and Blane Shields clinched the point with an impressive 8-4 win over Joel Kusnierz and Achim Christner at No. 2.
Rasmussen kept the momentum going in singles, defeating Yury Platonov 6-1, 6-3 for his fifth consecutive singles win. At No. 2, Brogan could not stretch the lead as he fell 7-5, 6-2 to Andre Sion making the score 2-1 overall. Freshman Jay Wong, however, stepped up to the challenge in his return to the lineup, and defeated Andrea Zannoni 7-5, 6-1 to capture his seventh victory in a row in singles.
The Gaels came back at No. 4 with Fauvre beating Gallman 6-4, 6-4 to stay alive at 3-2. However, Macek clinched the victory with a come-from-behind win at No. 1 over Kusnierz 7-6 (7-2), 7-5. Macek trailed 5-4 in the first set, but broke Kusnierz and won the set in a tiebreaker. He then trailed 2-5 in the second before winning five straight games to clinch the win. No. 6 Tommy Hicks was defeating Achim Christner in the final match 6-3, 5-2 when Christner retired with an ankle injury.
The Broncos travel to San Francisco on Wednesday, March 7 to take on the USF Dons at 2:30 p.m. PT. SCU will be looking for its third straight WCC win.
No. 64 Santa Clara def. No. 72 Saint Mary's 5-2
Doubles: (Order of finish 1, 3, 2)
1. SCU Jan Macek/Bobby Rasmussen def. SMC Adam Fauvre/Alp Ozpinar 8-5
2. SCU Robert Gallman/Blane Shields def. SMC Joel Kusnierz/Achim Christner 8-4
3. SMC Yury Platonov/Andre Sion def. SCU Brian Brogan/Kevin McQuaid 8-6
Singles: (Order of finish 5, 2, 3, 4, 1, 6)
1. SCU Jan Macek def. SMC Joel Kusnierz 7-6 (7-2), 7-5
2. SMC Andre Sion def. SCU Brian Brogan 7-5, 6-2
3. SCU Jay Wong def. Andrea Zannoni 7-5, 6-1
4. SMC Adam Fauvre def. Robert Gallman 6-4, 6-4
5. SCU Bobby Rasmussen def. SMC Yury Platonov 6-1, 6-3
6. SCU Tommy Hicks def. SMC Achim Christner 6-3, 5-2, ret.
