GCU falls to Santa Clara at home

Friday, February 16

Phoenix, Ariz.

4 p.m.

Grand Canyon

Santa Clara

Photo by: Sebastian Molinar

2/16/2024 10:24:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score

Lopes battle in close doubles, win trio of first sets in singles

By: Jerob Moon

The Grand Canyon men's tennis team opened a weekend homestand with a 4-0 loss to Santa Clara at GCU Tennis Facility.

The Lopes (2-3) battled in doubles to start the match but Santa Clara (5-1) clinched on the final court to take the 1-0 lead. All three courts were close throughout and the Broncos held an early advantage defeating GCU's Wyatt Anderson and Jonathan Da Silva 6-4 on court three. The Lopes battled back with a 6-4 win by sophomore Paolo Rosati and graduate Pablo Carretero Salvador. It was the fourth straight win for the No. 2 GCU pair and they knotted up doubles with one win for each team.

The point all came down to the No. 1 court and GCU's Gerhard Sullwald and David Wekesa. The GCU graduate and sophomore pair trailed 5-4 but were able to extend the match to 5-5 before Santa Clara regained the lead at 6-5. The Broncos went on to win at the top court with a 7-5 win, grabbing the 1-0 lead.

Singles play was split down the middle with each team winning a trio of first sets. Salvador moved up to the No. 1 postion for the Lopes and took his first set 6-4. His match was ultimately left unfinished as Santa Clara clinched the win on other courts.

The Broncos grabbed a pair of straight set wins over GCU's Da Silva and Sullwald at courts four and two, extending their lead to 3-0. The dual-match win was clinched at court five with a 7-6, 6-4 win over GCU sophomore Alfred Almasi.

Wekesa, Rosati and Salvador were all battling in their third sets when the match was called.

The Lopes will have an opportunity to bounce back on Sunday against Utah State at 11 a.m. at home.