SEATTLE, Wash. – The San Francisco men's tennis team split a weekend doubleheader at the University of Washington's Nordtrom Tennis Center, dropping a 6-1 decision to the Huskies before rebounding with a 5-2 victory against Idaho.
"We ended up getting a solid win on the road against a tough team of talented players," head coach
Pablo Pires de Almeida said. "The guys gained some confidence and earned a tough victory against Idaho."
First, the Dons battled No. 44 Washington and the Huskies took the doubles match after USF couldn't convert on opportunities from the Nos. 1 and 2 position.
Christian Brockstedt and
Thomas Takemoto pushed the pair of Viktor Farkas and Max Manthou before losing by a break, 8-6.
The duo of
Bernardo Saraiva and
Nils Skajaa lost in a tiebreaker, 8-7(3) to Washington's top pair to give the Huskies the doubles sweep. In singles,
James Tallman came away with the only point of the match for the Dons. The redshirt junior from Del Paso Heights, Calif., dispatched Emmett Egger, 6-3, 4-6, 10-8, from the No. 2 singles position.
"We went off to good starts, but James was the only victory with the third-set tiebreaker," Pires de Almeida said. "He competed really well, and was able to overcome the home court Husky crowd to get the win."
After the defeat at the hands of Washington, USF began its match against the Vandals on Friday evening. The Dons took the doubles point before retiring for the night.
Brockstedt and Tan opened play with a resounding 8-1 victory before
Germain Bahri and Saraiva fell to even the score. USF clinched the doubles point as Skajaa and
Rich Van Hout paired up for an 8-5 win.
On Saturday, USF and Idaho picked up with singles play and the Vandals opened the day to even the score. The next two finishers for the Dons, Takemoto and Bahri, both won the point to give USF a lead. The Vandals edged closer after Jose Bendeck earned a point Idaho at No. 3 singles, but USF was able to take the last two points of the day.
Tallman gutted out a close 7-6(7), 6-3 victory against Artemiy Nitikin, and then Saraiva found his game in a dominating third set to give the Dons the 5-2 win over Idaho.
After the weekend split, USF stands at 2-3 on the season. Next for the Dons is a home match against Fresno State on Feb. 15, with first serve slated for 1 p.m. at the Cal Club.
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Washington 6, USF 1
Feb. 7 | Nordstrom Tennis Center | Seattle, Wash.
Singles | Order of finish: unknown
No. 1 – Max Manthou (UW) def.
Bernardo Saraiva (USF) 6-3, 6-2
No. 2 –
James Tallman (USF) def. Emmett Egger (UW) 6-3, 4-6, 10-8
No. 3 – Gal Hakak (UW) def.
Nils Skajaa (USF) 6-4, 6-2
No. 4 – Jeff Hawke (UW) def.
Christian Brockstedt (USF) 6-1, 6-2
No. 5 – Daffra Sanon (UW) def.
Rich Van Hout (USF) 6-4, 6-1
No. 6 – Michael Chamerski (UW) def.
Germain Bahri (USF) 6-4, 7-5
Doubles | Order of finish: 3, 2, 1
No. 1 – Egger/Hawke (UW) def. Saraiva/Skajaa (USF); 8-7(3)
No. 2 – Farkas/Manthou (UW) def. Takemoto/Brockstedt (USF); 8-6
No. 3 – Chamerski/Wananabe (UW) def. Bahri/Tan (USF); 8-2
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USF 5, Idaho 2
Feb. 7-8 | Nordstrom Tennis Center | Seattle, Wash.
Singles | Order of finish: 4, 6, 5, 3, 2, 1
No. 1 –
Bernardo Saraiva (USF) def. Odon Barta (Idaho); 6-4, 4-6, 6-2
No. 2 –
James Tallman (USF) def. Artemiy Nikitin (Idaho); 7-6(7), 6-3
No. 3 – Jose Bendeck (Idaho) def.
Christian Brockstedt (USF); 6-4,
No. 4 – Cristobal Ramos Salazar (Idaho) def.
Rich Van Hout (USF); 6-2, 6-2
No. 5 –
Germain Bahri (USF) def. Cesar Torres (Idaho); 6-3, 6-3
No. 6 –
Thomas Takemoto (USF) def. Andrew Zedde (Idaho); 6-0, 6-1
Doubles | Order of finish: 2, 1, 3
No. 1 –  Bendeck/Ramos Salazar (Idaho) def. Bahri/Saraiva (USF); 8-3
No. 2 – Brockstedt/Takemoto (USF) def. Oddonetto/Zedde (Idaho); 8-1
No. 3 – Skajaa/Van Hout (USF) def. Barta/Torres (Idaho); 8-5
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