Men's Tennis Sweeps Portland

April 13, 2002

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Santa Clara University freshman Chris Lam brought home a Bronco sweep over Portland in West Coast Conference action this afternoon on his third match point at No. 1 singles. The Broncos, ranked 55th in the nation, improve to 17-5 and finish the regular league season 8-1. Additionally, Santa Clara went a perfect 11-0 at the SCU Tennis Center. Portland moves to 8-9.

Lam, ranked 116th nationally, defeated his second ranked opponent in as many days, this time topping the Pilots' Peter Malacek, ranked 101st. After splitting the first two sets, Malacek double-faulted to give Lam a 6-5 game advantage. A service ace brought up the first match point, but a nice Portland backhand down the line forced the tiebreaker. Lam registered four services aces in the final game and earned the victory when one of Malacek's returns went just long.

"There was a lot of drama in that last match," Bronco head coach Sean Burns said. "I was impressed with how aggressive Chris played. He made a game plan and even though he lost a few points on it, he stuck to it. So not only did he defeat a good opponent, but he also grew a little bit as a player."

Santa Clara won the doubles point to begin the match, taking the second and third courts. Burns added that he was impressed with how all three tandems competed, especially in regard to pressuring opponents. On court one, Portland's Travis Parrott and Nick Tostenrude edged the Bronco sophomore duo of Rick Ruso and Erich Chen by an 8-6 score.

On the No. 2 singles court, sophomore Michael Duong returned to his winning ways with his 15th victory of the season, a 6-0, 6-4 win over Tostenrude. Over on the sixth court, freshman Taylor Bedilion remained perfect in league action at 5-0 with his straight-set victory.

"Mike's been competing well, but hasn't been able to grab a win lately," Burns said. "He turned the corner today. We need him playing well for us to be competitive with the best teams."

The Broncos will play their third match in three days tomorrow afternoon in Fresno to wrap up the regular season against Fresno State. Santa Clara will be going for the program's first-ever victory over the Bulldogs. First serve is scheduled for 2 p.m.

No. 55 Santa Clara 7, Portland 0

Singles
1. No. 116 Chris Lam (SCU) def. No. 101 Peter Malacek (PORT) 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (6)
2. Michael Duong (SCU) def. Nick Tostenrude (PORT) 6-0, 6-4
3. Victor Camargo (SCU) def. Quinn Borchard (PORT) 6-1, 6-4
4. Erich Chen (SCU) def. Spencer Straub (PORT) 6-2, 6-4
5. Francisco Zepponi (SCU) def. Ty Garrison (PORT) 7-5, 6-3
6. Taylor Bedilion (SCU) def. Ram Hernandez (PORT) 6-4, 6-4

Doubles
1. Parrott/Tostenrude (PORT) def. Chen/ Rick Ruso (SCU) 8-6
2. Camargo/Lam (SCU) def. Borchard/Malacek (PORT) 8-3
3. Bedilion/ Michael Bruggemann (SCU) def. Garrison/Straub (PORT) 8-4