MORAGA, Calif. -- An injury forced the Saint Mary's men's tennis team to make a few alterations to its lineup but the changes didn't stop the Gaels from putting together their best total performance in a long time as they beat Gonzaga 4-2 at Korth Tennis Complex.
With No. 1 singles player and key member of the doubles lineup Arthur Weber held out due to a nagging injury, Saint Mary's had to make a few adjustments to its normal lineup. That started in doubles, where freshman Nash Vollenweider joined Jacob Lagman at No. 3 and the new pair made a good first impression, beating Joey Brandt and Alvaro Nazal 6-4 for the first win of the day. Not long after that result, Wil Martin and James Markiewicz clinched the first point of the day, beating Sergio Chip and Nick Kamisar 6-4 at No. 2.
Singles brought a whole new set of challenges for the Gaels, who asked several players to take a step up in the lineup with Weber out. Not only did they move up, they rose to the challenge, beginning with a 6-0, 6-2 win by Matthew Campana over Chip at No. 5. That put Saint Mary's up 2-0 early and gave the Gaels plenty of confidence in their hunt for a first West Coast Conference win this season.
Gonzaga got its first point thanks to a straight-sets win at No. 1 by Alvaro Nazal, but even in defeat SMC's Samuel Bloore was impressive, battling the reigning WCC Player of the Week tough in a 6-3, 6-2 Nazal win.
Momentum returned to Saint Mary's corner thanks to a big performance by a player who doesn't normally see much singles time. Markiewicz stepped in to play No. 6 and responded with his first dual win as a Gael, beating Vicente Varas 6-3, 6-3 to put SMC within a point of clinching the win. Gonzaga stayed alive with a win at No. 3 but again the Gaels were impressive despite the result, with Lagman dropping a pair of tie-breakers in his three-set match against Hayden Smith.
While the teams battled on court 2, Saint Mary's (4-10, 1-2) got the point it needed on court 4. Vollenweider dropped the first set 7-6 to Vladimir Mijatovic, but the freshman from Australia bounced back to take the second 7-6 in a tie-breaker of his own. The third set was nearly as close but this time Vollenweider didn't need extra points, beating Mijatovic 6-4 to finish off the win.
Saint Mary's won't have long to dwell on its big Saturday win, as the Gaels will return to the court Sunday at noon against Portland. SMC will play its next two on the road at Sacramento State and San Diego before coming home on April 10 for its final home match of the season against Santa Clara.
