Santa Clara University’s men’s tennis team secured a 4-2 victory over Alabama in the third-place match at the ITA Kickoff Weekend tournament, held Saturday morning in Starkville, Mississippi. The Broncos claimed the doubles point and won three singles matches to seal the win.
The team faced a tight schedule, returning to the courts at 6 a.m. Pacific Time after competing against seventh-ranked Mississippi State the previous night. The tournament schedule was moved up by a day due to weather concerns.
Luca Bluett and John Kim continued their strong performance as a doubles pair, improving their season record to 9-4 and remaining undefeated in dual matches. Their recent victories include two wins over nationally ranked opponents. On Friday, they defeated Mississippi State’s No. 2 ranked duo, Petar Jovanovic and Benito Sanchez.
In Saturday’s match against Alabama, Bluett and Kim beat No. 12 ranked Jacob Olar and Andrii Zimnokh with a score of 6-2 to help secure the doubles point for Santa Clara. Valentin Faure and Ferran Redza also contributed with a 6-2 win on court three in doubles play.
Alabama tied the match at one when Matic Kriznik defeated Luca Lemaitre 6-1, 6-0 on court two. The teams then split the next two singles matches before Lukas Maskow gave Santa Clara a lead by defeating Carlos Gimenez 7-5, 6-0 on court four. Faure clinched the overall team victory by overcoming Rohan Hazratwala 6-3, 7-5 on court five.
The singles results were as follows: Andrii Zimnokh (Alabama) vs. Alexander W Eriksson (Santa Clara), unfinished; Matic Kriznik (Alabama) def. Luca Lemaitre (Santa Clara) 6-1, 6-0; Vit Kalina (Alabama) def. John Kim (Santa Clara) 6-2, 6-4; Lukas Maskow (Santa Clara) def. Carlos Gimenez (Alabama) 7-5, 6-0; Valentin Faure (Santa Clara) def. Rohan Hazratwala (Alabama) 6-3, 7-5; Luca Bluett (Santa Clara) def. Brendan Loh (Alabama) 6-3, 6-1.
In doubles competition: Bluett/Kim (Santa Clara) def. Olar/Zimnokh (Alabama) 6-2; Kalina/Kriznik (Alabama) def. Boschmans/Lemaitre (Santa Clara) 6-1; Faure/Redza (Santa Clara) def. Hazratwala/Voelzke (Alabama) 6-2.
With this result, Santa Clara improves its season record to three wins and one loss while Alabama falls to two wins and two losses.
Next on their schedule, Santa Clara will host Oregon at home on February 1 at Degheri Tennis Center.
