Santa Clara, Calif. – The Santa Clara men’s tennis team secured a 5-2 victory over San Diego State in their home opener at the Degheri Tennis Center on Sunday. This win concludes the season opening weekend with two wins for the Broncos.
Santa Clara, now holding a 2-0 record, initially lost the doubles point but recovered by winning five of six singles matches. John Kim clinched the match for Santa Clara with a straight set win against Finn Willman, finishing 6-3, 6-4 on court three to give his team a 4-2 lead.
San Diego State (1-4) started strong by taking the first two doubles matches and earning the doubles point. On court three, Brock Anderson and Eugenio Gonzalez defeated Ferran Redza and Tiago Boschmans 6-4 to secure this early advantage.
Valentin Faure was first to score for Santa Clara in singles play, beating Eugenio Gonzalez 6-2, 6-1 on court five. Alexander Watanabe Eriksson followed with a win over Aleksi Lofman (6-2, 6-3) at the top of the lineup. Imran Daniel Hazli evened the overall score by defeating Luca Lemaitre 6-3, 6-4 before Santa Clara closed out the match with consecutive victories from Lukas Maskow, John Kim, and Luca Bluett.
The singles results were as follows: Alexander W Eriksson (Santa Clara) def. Aleksi Lofman (San Diego State) 6-2, 6-3; Imran Daniel Hazli (San Diego State) def. Luca Lemaitre (Santa Clara) 6-3, 6-4; John Kim (Santa Clara) def. Finn Willman (San Diego State) 6-3, 6-4; Lukas Maskow (Santa Clara) def. Lars Johann (San Diego State) 6-2, 6-4; Valentin Faure (Santa Clara) def. Eugenio Gonzalez (San Diego State) 6-2, 6-1; Luca Bluett (Santa Clara) def. Brock Anderson (San Diego State) 6-3, 3-6, 1-0 [10–7].
In doubles competition: John Kim/Luca Bluett vs. William Kleege/Denis Maijorov was unfinished at 5–4; Imran Daniel Hazli/Lars Johann defeated Valentin Faure/Luca Lemaitre of Santa Clara by a score of 6–1; Brock Anderson/Eugenio Gonzalez beat Ferran Redza/Tiago Boschmans of Santa Clara by a score of 6–4.
Next weekend, Santa Clara will travel to Starkville, Mississippi for ITA Kickoff Weekend where they will face host Mississippi State on Saturday and then play either Alabama or Auburn on Sunday.
