SANTA CLARA, Calif. – A short-handed No. 64-ranked Santa Clara men's tennis team defeated Washington 4-2 on Tuesday in the final tuneup before the start of West Coast Conference play. 

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Santa Clara (12-2), playing singles without the No. 78 ranked player, Christian Lerby, stepped up to the challenge to defeat Washington 4-2.  Last week, the Huskies were ranked No. 74 nationally before the day's new rankings came out. 
• Without their top player, each Bronco played one spot above their customary lineup position in singles including Guillame Dalmasso taking over the top of the lineup to defeat Cesar Bouchelaghem in three sets 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 to clinch the match.
• The Broncos got off to a solid start winning the first two doubles matches.  Luca Lemaitre and Tiago Boschmans beat Nedim Suko andBrett Pearson 6-3 on court two followed by the doubles point clincher on court three from Sebastian Buxman and Arjun Honnappa over Heman Nama/Ivan Sodan 6-4. 
• Honnappa picked up his second win of the day when he lead the singles charge with a comfortable 6-0, 6-3 victory over Jim Hendrikx on court six.
• Washington (6-8) picked up their first point of the match on court two.  Dzianis Zharyn downed Sebastian Buxman 6-3, 6-1 to pull within a point at 2-1 on the team scoreboard. 
• Lemaitre pushed the lead out to 3-1 with his win over Han-Chih Lin 6-3, 6-2. 
• The Huskies closed the gap to 3-2 getting a win on court five but Dalmasso closed out the match with a three-set comeback win to extend the team's win streak to seven matches.
• Santa Clara finished the five-match home stand undefeated.   

Dalmasso match clincher over Washington to extend No. 64 Santa Clara's win streak to seven matches!@SCUBroncos #StampedeTogether pic.twitter.com/yHVSSWj06u

— Santa Clara Men's Tennis (@SCUMTennis) March 20, 2024

Post-match comments by head coach Niall Angus. @SCUBroncos #StampedeTogether pic.twitter.com/dnkDz96q9o

— Santa Clara Men's Tennis (@SCUMTennis) March 20, 2024

• The Broncos open West Coast Conference play at San Francisco on Saturday.