SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The University of San Francisco men's tennis team needed an exciting finish to advance to the second round of the WCC Championships, besting the Loyola Marymount Lions, 4-3, Wednesday afternoon at the Barnes Tennis Center.
Nothing came easy for the Dons on the day, as an LMU victory at No. 2 doubles placed the deciding doubles match in the hands of
Richard Bucalem and
Jonathon Knowlman. The duo was able to stave off Daniel Simko and Jack Zapala for the 9-7 victory, giving USF a 1-0 lead for the 18
th time in 20 matches this season.
The Lions rebounded to take three of the next four singles matches, leaving USF's season to senior
Thai Tu and freshman
Nils Skajaa at No. 1 and No. 3 singles, respectively.
After Tu disposed of LMU's Othar Kordsachia 6-2, 2-6, 6-2 to even the match at 3-3, Skajaa found himself playing the deciding match in his WCC Championships debut. Nicholas Bjerke took the first set by a score of 6-2, but the freshman rallied to claim the final two sets, 7-5 and 6-2.
"This was a classic down-to-the-wire contest and we showed a lot of resiliency finishing the match,” said head coach
Peter Bartlett. “Some of the close matches we have had over the course of the year really helped us today.
“We were fortunate today because for a while it could have gone either way. We knew it was going to be this type of match and
Nils Skajaa did a great job keeping his poise during the match and ultimately closed it out."
With the win, the Dons advance to Thursday's second round and will face fourth-seeded and 60
th-ranked Santa Clara at 12:30 a.m.
Second Round Matchups – Thursday, April 25
#4 Santa Clara vs. #5 San Francisco
#3 San Diego vs. #6 Saint Mary's
*both matches at 12:30 p.m.*
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
DOUBLES:
1. Bernardo Saraiva /
Nils Skajaa (USF) def. Othar Kordsachia / Felix van Kann (LMU) 8-3
2. Nicholas Bjerke / Sebastian Bustamente (LMU) def.
Thai Tu/
Germain Bahri (USF) 8-4
3. Richard Bucalem /
Jonathon Knowlman (USF) def. Daniel Simko / Jack Zapala (LMU) 9-7
Order of finish: 1, 2, 3
SINGLES:
1. Thai Tu (USF) def. Othar Kordsachia (LMU) 6-2, 2-6, 6-2
2. Bernardo Saraiva (USF) def. Todd Volmari (LMU) 6-3, 6-4
3. Nils Skajaa (USF) def. Nicholas Bjerke (LMU) 2-6, 7-5, 6-2
4. Sebastian Bustamente (LMU) def.
Rich Van Hout (USF) 6-3, 6-4
5. Cristobal Rivera (LMU) def.
William Schumacher (USF) 6-2, 6-2
6. Felix van Kann (LMU) def.
Germain Bahri (USF) 6-2, 6-2
Order of finish: 6, 4, 2, 5, 1, 3
FINAL SCORE: USF 4, LMU 3
