MORAGA, Calif. — Saint Mary's (2-10) will look to face off against two West Coast Conference opponents this weekend followed by a match against Bay-Area rival, Cal. The Gaels will host Santa Clara on Friday at 3 p.m. and San Francisco on Saturday at 2 p.m then SMC will travel to Berkeley on Sunday to take on Cal at 2 p.m.
More information can be found on the Gaels' schedule page.
GAELS LAST TIME OUT
Saint Mary's is coming off their first loss in WCC action as they managed to pick up one point against No. 25 BYU, but ultimately dropped the 4-1 decision. Matis Bot led the Gaels on Saturday as he was the lone Gael to defeat his BYU opponent and won in straight sets in the No. 3 singles spot. Abhishek Bastola and James Watt each forced three sets on their opponents in singles action after each claiming the first set, 6-3, in their individual contests but ultimately fell to the Cougars. On doubles courts, Bot and Bastola led their opposition 5-2 before the match was eventually called.
ABOUT SANTA CLARA
Santa Clara holds a 9-3 record (0-1 WCC) as they are currently on a three-game winning streak. The Broncos won their last matchup in shutout fashion last weekend as they defeated Marquette 7-0. During the contest, the Broncos only dropped one set to the Golden Eagles to still remain undefeated at home. Jesus Barajas has led Santa Clara in singles action this season as he holds an 18-6 overall record and is 4-4 in the No. 1 singles spot. The doubles tandem Vasileios Illiopoulos and Arthur Neuhaus have seemingly led the Broncos in the No. 2 spot with a 7-5 record and have won their last four matchups as a duo.
ABOUT SAN FRANCISCO
The Dons are 3-6 this spring and their matchup against Saint Mary's on Saturday will be their first WCC contest this year. In their last match against Fresno State last weekend, San Francisco collected one point, but were overcome by the Bulldogs with a 4-1 final score. Nitzan Ricklis picked up the one victory as the No. 2 spot in singles action after recording the win in straight sets. Ricklis has continued to lead the Dons in the No. 2 seed as he is undefeated with a 3-0 record.
ABOUT CALIFORNIA
The Bears currently hold a 7-7 overall record and are undefeated so far in the Pacific-12 Conference with a 2-0 record. After taking a 3-1 lead over Arizona State in their last matchup, the Sun Devils made a comeback to clinch the 4-3 win over the Bears for their second consecutive loss. As the No. 1 seeds in singles play, both Paul Barretto and Jacob Brumm have yet to win a contest. On doubles courts, however, Bears duo Barretto and Can Kaya are undefeated 5-0 as the No. 2 seed. Cal will look to host Nevada on Sunday prior to facing off against Saint Mary's.
