Rough season ends for men's tennis
By Ryan Donough
The Santa Clara men's tennis team ended a difficult season, finishing 2-18 overall and placing eighth this past weekend at the West Coast Conference Championships, which was held on their home court.
The Broncos dropped all their tournament matches, losing to No. 14 Pepperdine, Loyola Marymount and Gonzaga.
On Friday, the Broncos took on the top-ranked Waves and were swept, losing their top two doubles matches, while the third match did not finish. After losing their matches at the No. 3, No. 4 and No. 6 positions, all other matches were stopped in accordance with tournament rules.
Tournament rules dictate that players do not continue to compete once one team reaches four points. One point is awarded to the team that wins the majority of the three doubles matches, while each singles match is worth one point each. Once one team reaches four points, all matches end immediately.
The next day, Santa Clara faced Loyola Marymount but was swept 4-0 once again despite a stronger showing in both doubles and singles. Sophomore Jay Wong was ahead at the No. 1 position but was unable to finish his match because the Broncos were defeated at all other single positions, including losses at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions in doubles.
The Broncos had their strongest showing on Sunday in their third round consolation match, where they took two points from Gonzaga. Santa Clara took the initial doubles point with victories at the No. 1 and No. 3 positions. With the 1-0 lead, the Broncos lost in singles at the No. 4 and No. 5 spots, but answered back thanks to a strong victory from Kenzo Hirakawa-Wong at the No. 2 position. Gonzaga sealed the match with victories at all other singles positions, despite the efforts of Hirakawa-Wong at the No. 1 spot.
While the Broncos finished their rough season with a disappointing finish, Head Coach Derek Mills saw a lot of positives come out of this week's championships and the season as a whole.
"The team really progressed a lot with a great attitude against nationally ranked teams this season," Mills said.
Santa Clara was forced to use four walk-ons this season after injuries to junior Tommy Hicks and senior Blaine Shields, as well as a combination of transfers and departing seniors from last year's roster, left the team looking for options.
Hicks didn't play a match all season due to serious injury to his wrist that required surgery, but expects to be back next year and could be available as early as the fall season, depending on the health of his wrist.
Shields was hindered with an injury to his feet but expects to be back next fall as well. He is currently playing at full strength after practicing with the team for a month and a half.
The experience gained by the current team, along with the return of Hicks and Shields, will significantly improve the Broncos next season, according to Hirakawa-Wong.
"We are only going to get better," Hirakawa-Wong said.
The Broncos are also hoping for a few recruits to attend, which could bolster the starting lineup.
Hirakawa-Wong was most impressed with the Broncos' doubles play at the end of the year, considering that the team was made up almost entirely of singles players.
"The biggest improvement was in our doubles game," he said. "Most of us learned doubles, and it was really coming together at the end of the year."
Many of the players have plans to further their game over the summer. Hirakawa-Wong said he hopes to train at a tennis academy in either Southern California or Florida this summer. In addition to regular training, teammate Senthil Chidambaram will enter semi-pro tournaments in California and Washington.
"Hopefully, we get some good recruits, and with everyone improving, we have to be better," Chidambaram said. "Getting Blaine and Tommy back will also push us to be better for next season."
Contact Ryan Donough at (408) 551-1918 or rdonough@scu.edu.