Men's basketball loses to San Francisco and Saint Mary's
By Blake Twisselman
MEN'S BASKETBALL
St. Mary's 84, Santa Clara 52
The Gaels had a near-record breaking performance as they handed the Broncos (11-8 overall, 3-1 WCC) their first conference loss last Thursday in Moraga. Junior guard Kyle Bailey led all Santa Clara scorers with 12 points, but Saint Mary's had four players score double-digits. The Gaels drained 14 3-pointers and shot over 50 percent from the field during the contest. Sophomore forward Travis Niesen chipped in nine points and four rebounds for Santa Clara, while senior center Jim Howell ripped down eight rebounds.
San Francisco 64, Santa Clara 48
San Francisco utilized a second-half run to pull away from the Broncos and hand Santa Clara (11-9 overall, 3-2 WCC) their second straight loss last Saturday in San Francisco. The Broncos were led by guards Brandon Rohe and Doron Perkins, who scored 11 and 10 points, respectively. Perkins also added four rebounds and four assists. The Broncos turned the ball over 20 times and managed to make only 15 field goals in the loss. Santa Clara will return to the Leavey Center this week to host the Portland Pilots and the nationally-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Santa Clara 75, San Francisco 45
The Broncos won their first home game this season and won their eighth straight conference home opener with an impressive victory last Thursday at the Leavey Center. Junior guard Quinn Thomas led all Santa Clara scorers with 17 points, including five 3-point field goals. Thomas also led the team with eight rebounds. Senior guard Whitney Sutak dropped in 16 points, freshman forward Jenni Gottschalk netted 11 points and freshman guard Ashley Graham added nine points and seven assists. The Broncos improved to 6-11 overall and 2-2 in West Coast Conference play with the victory.
St. Mary's 59, Santa Clara 51
Quinn Thomas tied a career high with 24 points, draining six 3-pointers while collecting three rebounds. But the Broncos (6-12 overall, 2-3 WCC) were unable to complete the comeback last Saturday at the Leavey Center. Redshirt freshman forward Tori Markey also had an impressive game for Santa Clara, adding nine points and seven rebounds. Gottschalk led all Broncos in the rebounding category with 10 boards. Santa Clara hits the road this weekend for conference contests against Gonzaga and Portland.
MEN'S TENNIS
Washington 7, Santa Clara 0
The Broncos were unable to take a set off of the 11th ranked Huskies last Friday at the Lloyd Nordstrom Tennis Center in Seattle. Washington swept all three doubles matches to earn the doubles point and swept all six singles matches in straight sets. Junior Taylor Bedilion took his opponent to tiebreakers in each set at the number four singles position while senior Gernot Fischer had the tough task of playing Washington's Alex Vlaski, who is the second ranked player in the nation. Fischer lost 6-3, 6-2 and Santa Clara dropped to 2-1 overall with the loss.
Oregon 5, Santa Clara 2
The 60th ranked Ducks dropped Santa Clara to 2-2 overall by defeating the Broncos in Eugene last Sunday. Oregon won all three doubles pro-sets to claim the doubles point and won four of the six singles matches as well. Fischer had an impressive 6-2, 6-2 victory for Santa Clara at the number one singles position. Freshman Kevin McQuaid also picked up a straight set win for the Broncos at number six singles, besting his opponent 6-3, 7-6. Taylor Bedilion extended his opponent to a third set before dropping his match (6-4, 1-6, 7-5) at the number three singles position. Santa Clara will return home to host New Mexico this Friday at the Santa Clara Tennis Center.
WOMEN'S TENNIS
Cal Poly 5, Santa Clara 2
Santa Clara opened up its 2004 season with a loss to Cal Poly at home last Saturday. Cal Poly won two of the three doubles pro-sets to claim the doubles point and won four of the six singles matches to claim the victory. Junior Janalle Kaloi won 6-3, 6-7, (10-6) at the number one singles position and freshman Kelly Leathers won 5-7, 6-3, (10-8) at the number four singles position to claim points for the Broncos. Cal Poly won the other four singles matches in straight sets. Santa Clara (0-1 overall) will travel to Berkeley this Saturday to take on the Golden Bears.
WOMEN'S WATER POLO
Santa Clara 10, CS Hayward 6
The women's water polo team opened up their season with an impressive victory against the Pioneers of Cal State Hayward. Junior Catherine Flynn scored four goals to lead Santa Clara (1-0 overall) to the win. Junior Katy Shumm, sophomore Alanna Simpkins and freshman Katie Radvanyi each scored two goals apiece for the Broncos. The Broncos will have a rematch with CS Hayward and then play UC Santa Cruz this Saturday in Santa Cruz.