Click here to watch an EYEBRONCO video from the victory over UC Santa Cruz!
SANTA CLARA, Calif. – After a positive start to the 2014 campaign, including a 4-0 win over No. 64 Georgia State in its last match, the No. 71 men's tennis team began its second month of the season by sweeping a doubleheader. The Broncos beat UC Santa Cruz and Sonoma State, both by a 4-0 final.
Santa Clara now has a two week break from competition. The Broncos will host the Fresno State Bulldogs on Sunday, Feb. 16 at 11am.
With the two wins, Santa Clara's overall mark is 4-1. The Broncos are 3-0 on their home courts, 0-1 on the road, and 1-0 in neutral contests.
Santa Clara faced UC Santa Cruz in the morning match, beating the Banana Slugs 4-0. The Broncos grabbed the first doubles match with a 6-3 win from Mikheil Khmiadashvili (pictured) and Jesse Ross at No. 3. The freshman duo picked up their second win of the season, evening their record at 2-2. John Lamble and Ilya Osintsev went to a tiebreaker and dominated, winning every point.
In singles, Lamble defeated Elias Scandalis 6-1, 6-3 in the top position. Ashot Khacharyan breezed 6-1, 6-1 over Kyle Richter at No. 3. Sam Bertram was a 6-1, 6-2 winner over Jimmy Soper in the sixth spot which moved his record to 5-1.
With one win in the books, the Broncos went to work against Sonoma State in the afternoon. Santa Clara picked up a clean sweep in doubles to start off. Lamble and Osinstev won 6-0 at No. 1, moving their record to 4-1 including three straight wins. Bertram and Khacharyan picked up a 6-0 victory as well, which improved their record to 5-2.
Lamble led the Santa Clara singles charge, defeating his opponent 6-3, 6-1 for his fourth overall win of the day. The senior from Saratoga, Calif. is 11-3 in singles and has won seven of his last eight matches. Khacharyan dominated in the third singles spot 6-2, 6-0, boosting his mark to 5-2. Khmiadashvili won 6-1, 6-3 at No. 4 for his first NCAA singles victory.
Check out SantaClaraBroncos.com for more on Santa Clara's upcoming matches. Stay up to date with everything men's tennis on Facebook and Twitter @SCUmtennis. Go Broncos!
