April 14, 2002

FRESNO, Calif. - The Santa Clara University men's tennis team fell to Fresno State this afternoon at the Wathen Tennis Center by a 4-3 final score. The Broncos, ranked 55th nationally, finished the regular season with a 17-6 overall record. The Bulldogs, ranked 61st by the ITA, move to 6-15.

The Broncos were aiming for the program's first victory over the Bulldogs in their third match in as many days. The day started in SCU's favor when the team earned the doubles point. Sophomores Erich Chen and Rick Ruso upset FSU's Nick Fustar and Dustin Ilic 8-6 to lead the way. Fustar and Ilic are currently ranked 45th nationally. At No. 3 singles, freshman Taylor Bedilion and Michael Bruggemann earned a solid 8-2 win.

"We came out really well in doubles," Bronco head coach Sean Burns said. "Erich and Rick served incredibly well and upset their second ranked opponent this week. And Taylor and Mike were absolutely overwhelming. Their returns were unbelieveable."

Moving into singles, the match came down to a thrilling contest on court three that wound up favoring the Bulldogs. Stefan Suta came from being down 2-5 in the third set to defeat sophomore Michael Duong 6-3, 4-6, 7-5. Just before that, Hector Almada also clinched a close win at the No. 1 spot, topping freshman Chris Lam 6-3, 2-6, 6-1. Fustar struggled at the No. 2 position, falling to Bronco senior Victor Camargo 6-4, 6-1.

"We had the match in our hands and we let it slip away," Burns said. "Michael battled today. He won his second set to put us in a position to win. I'm glad he had the opportunity to experience playing with the whole match on his shoulders today. Despite the loss, it's a good experience for him."

On the back courts, Alex Krohn pushed the second set to a tie-breaker but was unable to take the win, losing 6-0, 7-6 to Chen. Ilic kept the crowd on the edge of their seats as he took his match into three sets, finally taking the win over Bedilion.

Santa Clara will next be in action April 19-21 at the West Coast Conference Championships, hosted by Saint Mary's in Moraga. Opponents and match times will be released on Thursday.

No. 61 Fresno State 4, No. 55 Santa Clara 3

Singles
1. Hector Almada (FSU) def. No. 116 Chris Lam (SCU) 6-3, 2-6, 6-1
2. Victor Camargo (SCU) def. Nick Fustar (FSU) 6-4, 6-1
3. Stefan Suta (FSU) def. Michael Duong (SCU) 6-3, 4-6, 7-5
4. Erich Chen (SCU) def. Alex Krohn (FSU) 6-0, 7-6 (5)
5. Greg Shearer (FSU) def. Francisco Zepponi (SCU) 6-2, 6-1
6. Dustin Ilic (FSU) def. Taylor Bedilion (SCU) 6-4, 1-6, 6-4

Doubles
1. Chen/ Rick Ruso (SCU) def. No. 43 Fustar/Ilic (FSU) 8-6
2. Aldama/Suta (FSU) def. Camargo/Lam (SCU) 8-6
3. Bedilion/ Michael Bruggemann (SCU) def. Krohn/Shearer (FSU) 8-2

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