ORLANDO, Fla. – Santa Clara men's tennis players Luca Bluett and John Kim made history on Wednesday when they took court at the 2025 NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships becoming the first-ever Bronco men's tennis players to play in the NCAA Individual Championships. The Bronco tandem battled but eventually fell in three sets to the doubles team from Penn, Aaron Sandler and Manfredi Graziani.
Bluett and Kim became just the second and third players, men or women, to play at the NCAA Championships following Katie Le who played in the NCAA Women's Singles Championship in three consecutive years from 2012 to 2014.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Sandler and Graziani came back from a set down to defeat Bluett and Kim 3-6, 7-6 (7-2), 1-0 (10-5).
- In the opening set, Bluett and Kim broke Sandler and Graziani in the second game to go up 2-0 and held serve the rest of the way take the set 6-3.
- The Bronco duo appeared to be in control in the second set taking a 4-2 lead. However, Sandler and Graziani held serve then got their first break in the eighth game to knot things at 4-all before the match headed to a tiebreaker at 6-all. In the tiebreaker, the Quakers tandem won five of the first six points to eventually win it 7-2 to send the match to a 10-point match tiebreaker in lieu of a third set.
- Sandler and Graziani continued their strong play taking four of the first five points in the super set. Bluett and Kim came back to get within a point at 4-3 but that's as close as they came with the Quakers doubles team winning the super set 10-5 to secure a place in the round of 16.
- Bluett and Kim finished the fall with a 6-4 doubles record.
RESULTS:
NCAA Singles & Doubles Championships
11/19/2025 at Orlando, Fla. (USTA National Campus)
Doubles competition
R32 Aaron Sandler/Manfredi Graziani (Penn) def. Luca Bluett/John Kim (Santa Clara) 3-6, 7-6 (7-2), 1-0 (10-5)
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