Men's basketball and tennis both go undefeated this week
By Blake Twisselman
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Santa Clara 75, Pepperdine 68
Junior guards Doron Perkins and Kyle Bailey led the Broncos as Santa Clara (10-7 overall, 2-0 WCC) held off Pepperdine in West Coast Conference action last Thursday at the Leavey Center. Perkins led all Broncos with 17 points, 11 of them coming from the charity stripe. Bailey added 13 points and five assists. The Broncos jumped out to an early lead before surrendering a 14-0 Pepperdine run, but Santa Clara still finished the half with a two point advantage. The Broncos played an inspired second half of basketball and made their free throws to put the game away. Sophomore forward Travis Niesen chipped in 12 points and senior forward Jim Howell added nine points and three steals in the winning effort.
Santa Clara 70, Loyola Marymount 54
The Broncos improved to 11-7 overall and 3-0 in conference play with an impressive victory against the Lions last Saturday at the Leavey Center. Santa Clara jumped out to the early advantage and Loyola Marymount was unable to mount any sort of comeback due to the efforts of Perkins and Bailey. Perkins led all Broncos again with 17 points and an amazing six steal performance. Bailey netted 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds for Santa Clara. Niesen also scored double digits for the Broncos with 10 points, as Santa Clara climbed to a tie atop the West Coast Conference standings with the Gonzaga Bulldogs. The Broncos will return to action this Thursday to face Saint Mary's College in Moraga.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Pepperdine 85, Santa Clara 62
Freshman forward Ashley Gonnerman's 17-point performance wasn't quite enough, as the Broncos (5-10 overall, 1-1 WCC) dropped last Thursday's conference game at the Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu. Senior forward Jennie Rondel had another strong game, with 15 points in only 21 minutes of action. Guards Ashley Graham and Quinn Thomas had 10 and seven points, respectively. The women's basketball team will return to the Leavey Center this weekend for home games against San Francisco and Saint Mary's.
Loyola Marymount 69, Santa Clara 59
The Broncos got a career-best performance from Ashley Graham, but they were unable to knock off Loyola Marymount last Saturday at the Gersten Pavilion in Los Angeles. Graham played all forty minutes, dropping in 21 points. Rondel and freshman guard Anna Martin each had a dozen points for the Broncos, and redshirt freshman Tori Markey had eight points and 11 rebounds. Santa Clara suffered from foul trouble throughout the game, as four players fouled out and three others finished the game with four personal fouls. Loyola Marymount capitalized on the foul trouble, by scoring 25 of their 69 points at the free throw line. The Broncos (5-11 overall, 1-2 WCC) will play their first conference home games this week at the Leavey Center.
MEN'S TENNIS
Santa Clara 4, UC Santa Cruz 3
The Broncos kicked off their spring schedule with a hard fought victory against the Division III Banana Slugs. Santa Clara swept all three doubles matches to earn the first point of the match. Santa Clara and UC Santa Cruz split the doubles as the Broncos won the match by a score of 4-3. Senior Gernot Fischer won his number one singles match in straight sets by a score of 6-3, 6-2.Ã Junior Taylor Bedilion won his match 6-3, 6-0, and junior Francisco Zepponi won the victory-clinching match 6-4, 7-6 at the number five singles position.
Santa Clara 6, UC Davis 1
Santa Clara notched another victory with an impressive team effort against the Aggies last Saturday at the SCU Tennis Center. Santa Clara won all three of the doubles matches to claim the doubles point and take an early 1-0 lead. Fischer and Eric Kochanski each claimed three set victories at the number one and two singles positions, respectively. Bedilion won at the number three singles spot with a score of 6-1, 7-6, while Ben Hidalgo and Bobby Rasmussen each had impressive straight set wins for Santa Clara. The Broncos will travel to the Pacific Northwest this weekend to take on the Washington Huskies and Oregon Ducks.