RANCHO MIRAGE - The University of San Francisco men's tennis team made program history over the weekend at the Sunrise Country Club, taking its first win at the National Collegiate Tennis Classic to open up the spring season. The tournament saw two championship titles for the Dons, dominating both singles and doubles play. 

"This is the first time we have ever been the champs of such a historic tournament in a strong field," said head coach Pablo Pires de Almeida.

To start the weekend, the Dons were able to get a win from doubles pair Johan Joenhagen and Mert Zincirli, breaking at 5-4 for the 6-4 victory.

The Dons had more impressive results in singles with four players making it to the quarterfinals. USF's performances were highlighted by Lucas Marinelli who had the big win of the day when he came back in the third set after being down 4-2, and won 7-5 in the last set.

Oliver Poysti also had a solid win over his Pepperdine opponent in a close straight-set match, followed by strong performances from Zincirli and Joenhagen. Marco Barretto and Paul Giraud battled hard on the court as well, but they both came up short in their matches and did not continue on in the singles tournament.

USF rolled momentum from their first day results into the second day of action, starting with a solid doubles victory from Joenhagen and Zincirli as they took down Pepperdine, 6-1, in the semifinals, advancing to the Sunday finals. 

Singles play for the Dons continued strong as well with three big wins from Joenhagen against Pepperdine, and Ryan Marker and Zincirli against Denver. With their match wins, each advanced to the semifinals. Unfortunately, Poysti fell to Pepperdine, eliminating him from singles play. 

Zincirli and Joenhagen kicked off semifinal action on Saturday for USF in a head to head match up. Zincirli took down Joenhagen (6-1, 6-0), to book him a trip to the finals. A win from Marker over Pepperdine capped off the day, solidifying two Dons in finals play. 

It was an all USF singles final in the last day of tournament. The Dons also had a doubles final match facing Pepperdine. Starting with doubles, Zincirli and Joenhagen won the battle against Pepperdine, taking the championship title. That wouldn't be Zincirli's last title of the weekend as he faced his teammate Marker in the singles final and took home the victory. 

All in all, the Dons opened the spring seaon with a strong statement. "I'd like to thank the tournament director Donny Felich and Sandy Star," Almeida said. "Also I'd like to thank the Markers for hosting all of us in friends houses."

UP NEXT:
The Dons compete in their first dual matchup on Friday, Jan. 19 in Stanford against the Cardinal. The match is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. and can be streamed live at streamingtennis.com.

USF RESULTS:
National Collegiate Tennis Classic | Jan. 12-14
Sunrise Country Club | Rancho Mirage, Calif.

Singles
Round of 32 (Jan. 12)
Marinelli (USF) def. Max Blancaneaux (BSU); 4-6, 6-4, 7-5
Demulling (BSU) def. Barretto (USF); 6-4, 6-4

Round of 16 (Jan. 12)
Dennis Uspensky (Pepp) def. Marinelli (USF); 6-2, 6-3
Poysti (USF) def. Dane Esses (Pepp); 6-4, 7-5
Marker (USF) def. Mattia Ross (DU); 6-2, 6-2
Zincirli (USF) def. Nicholas Baez (Pepp); 6-3, 6-1
Lautaro Pane (Pepp) def. Giraud (USF); 6-4, 6-1
Joenhagen (USF) def. Max Mendelsohn (Pepp); 6-4, 6-3

Quarterfinals (Jan. 13)
Uspensky (Pepp) def. Poysti (USF); 6-4, 4-6, 7-5
Marker (USF) def. Jorge Nunez (DU); 7-5, 6-2
Zincirli (USF) def. Matt Summers (DU); 3-6, 6-3, 6-3
Joenhagen (USF) def. Pane (Pepp); 6-3, 6-4

Semifinals (Jan. 13)
Marker (USF) def. Uspensky (Pepp); 6-4, 4-6, 6-2
Zincirli (USF) def. Joenhagen (USF); 6-1, 6-0

Finals (Jan. 14)
Zincirli (USF) def. Marker (USF); 6-1, 6-2

Doubles
Round of 16 (Jan. 12)
Zincirli/Joenhagen (USF) def. Esses/Mendelsohn (Pepp); 6-4
Bedolo/Demulling (BSU) def. Giraud/Marker (USF); 6-3
Marinelli/Poysti (USF) def. Uspensky/Baez (Pepp); 6-2

Quarterfinals (Jan. 13)
Zincirli/Joenhagen (USF) def. Pane/Berduso (Pepp); 6-1

Finals (Jan. 14)
Zincirli/Joenhagen (USF) def. Uspensky/Baez (Pepp); 6-1