University of San Francisco Athletics

MORAGA, Calif. – Notching its fourth win in as many tries, the San Francisco men's tennis team finished off the West Coast Conference slate by holding tight to defeat Saint Mary's 4-3 at Korth Tennis Complex Wednesday afternoon.

The Dons advance to 13-12 on the season and have posted wins in its final three WCC matches of the year. Saint Mary's drops to 8-11 with the loss, and stands at 3-5 in conference action.

"What a battle to finish the conference season," head coach Pablo Pires de Almeida exclaimed. "This was a big momentum booster for us and a huge win for the Dons going into the conference tournament."

USF swept the doubles point for just the fourth time this season to get the cross-Bay rivalry going. The No. 2 tandem of James Tallman and Timothy Tan were first to finish with an 8-5 victory over their Gaels' competitors. Then, the duo of Thomas Takemoto and Germain Bahri clinched the point for USF before No. 1 pair of Bernardo Saraiva and Nils Skajaa capped the action with an 8-6 win over Joakim Norstrom and Thomas Hunt.

The Dons extended the advantage to two points after Skajaa put together a routine win over Toumas Manner, 6-3, 6-2. The Gaels came back to equalize after earning points from the Nos. 5 and 6 positions before Bahri battled for a three-set win. The senior from Gosselies, Belgium, finished his match strong to down Wil Martin, 6-2, 5-7, 6-0, and edge USF back to into the lead.

After the competition at No. 2 went to Saint Mary's, the match rode firmly on the shoulders of the marquee matchup between Saraiva and Norstrom. Saraiva, a junior from Lisbon, Portugal, took the first before Norstrom evened the score to force a third set. But Saraiva's stellar play down the stretch gave USF the deciding point for the victory, after a 7-6(7-0) win in the final set of the day.

"Bernardo was battling down a break in the third, but he broke back at 4-5 and held to go up 6-5," Pires de Almeida explained. "Joaquin held to go into the breaker but Bernardo played a perfect breaker to win it 7-0 and get tackled by his teammates!"

For Saraiva, the win marks his fifth in a row, dating back to a takedown of then-No. 49 Clarke Spinosa of San Diego. His 18-7 dual match record from the No. 1 position has paced the Dons throughout the spring and keyed the late winning streak to close the year.

USF embarks on one final road trip to close the regular season, with a pair of weekend matches in Boise, Idaho. First, the Dons take on Boise State Saturday before a neutral-court tussle with Air Force Sunday to lead into the WCC Championships. First serve against the Broncos is scheduled for 5 p.m. PT at the Appleton Tennis Center.
 

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San Francisco 4, Saint Mary's 3
April 16 | Korth Tennis Complex | Moraga, Calif.

Singles | Order of finish: 2, 5, 6, 4, 3, 1*
No. 1 – Bernardo Saraiva (USF) def. Joakim Norstrom (SMC) 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7-0)
No. 2 – Nils Skajaa (USF) def. Tuomas Manner (SMC) 6-3, 6-2
No. 3 – Thomas Hunt (SMC) def. James Tallman (USF) 4-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2
No. 4 – Nathan Lewis (SMC) def. Thomas Takemoto (USF) 6-3, 6-3
No. 5 – Mathias Olsen (SMC) def. Timothy Tan (USF) 6-3, 6-2
No. 6 – Germain Bahri (USF) def. Wil Martin (SMC) 6-2, 5-7, 6-0

Doubles | Order of finish: 2, 3, 1
No. 1 – Nils Skajaa/Bernardo Saraiva (USF) def. Joakim Norstrom/Thomas Hunt (SMC) 8-6
No. 2 – Timothy Tan/James Tallman (USF) def. Samuel Bloore/Wil Martin (SMC) 8-5
No. 3 – Thomas Takemoto/Germain Bahri (USF) def. Tuomas Manner/James Markiewicz (SMC) 8-6