MORAGA, Calif. – Saint Mary's Men's Tennis will head to UC Davis to take on the Aggies at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, and host Santa Clara in a non-conference match after having a couple of postponements early in the spring schedule.
 
SMC and Santa Clara were each scheduled to host the University of Idaho in their second match of the spring season, but the Vandals decided not to make the trip west due to the rain that hit the Bay Area over the weekend. Even the Gaels season opener at Stanford was moved up by a day due to expected rainy conditions.

So, the two ancient rivals decided to get together for a match that will not count towards their conference records since they were each left without an opponent with Idaho canceling their trip.

Saint Mary's had one of their most dramatic wins last season at home against Santa Clara, defeating the Broncos 4-3. They would battle the Broncos in the WCC Tournament as well, with Santa Clara sneaking out a 4-3 win of their own in the postseason.
 
The Gaels will play their more traditional, non-conference, local rival in UC Davis on Saturday, in Davis, Calif. The teams have split their last four meetings against each other.
 
THE DETAILS
Saint Mary's (0-1) at UC Davis (0-0)
Saturday, January 27 at 10:30 a.m.
Marya Welch Tennis Center

Saint Mary's (0-1) vs. Santa Clara (1-0)
Sunday, January 28 at 10:00 p.m.
Korth Tennis Courts – Moraga, Calif.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Saint Mary's Men's Tennis opened their spring slate at No. 9 Stanford, with the Cardinal taking the season opener 7-0. The Gaels non-conference slate features a mix of top-ranked teams to test them before WCC play begins, and less-powerful programs to help them get warmed up for the season.
 
Stanford was one of those top-ranked tests, so though SMC was shut out, the experience against the Cardinal was beneficial for the Gaels. Saint Mary's threatened to send the doubles section to a decisive third match, but Kyle Kang and Harsh Hemang Parikh edged out freshmen Liam Carpenter and Paulo Etchecoin 6-4 to take the doubles point.
 
Carlos Ramos Membrives put up the best fight against his Cardinal competitor, before Max Basing was able to get a two-set win 6-4, 7-5. Diego Jarry's second set against Kang went to a 7-5 finish, and Mathis Moysan and Thibaud Maxant each battled to 6-4, 6-4 and 6-4, 6-3 losses respectively.
 
ABOUT UC DAVIS
After a strong fall season, Ryan Torres earned a spot in the top 125 DI Men's Singles players according to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. 

Torres holds down the 62nd spot on the rankings for the Aggies. The Junior from San Ramon has some notable achievements during his time as an Aggie on the courts and in the classroom. He won Big West Co-Freshman of the Year, All-Big West Second Team Singles, and All-Big West Second Team Doubles all in his first year. He went on in his second year to win ITA Scholar-Athlete, Big West Honor Roll Highest Honors, and Big West Conference All-Academic Team.

This fall Torres was on a roll picking up wins at numerous tournaments. The third-year Aggie swept singles play in straight sets, earning himself a spot in the 2023 ITA Super Regionals at the Northwest Regional Championships. After his final match in Phoenix at the GCU Hidden Duals he boasted an 11-5 record in singles matches. 

ABOUT SANTA CLARA
Santa Clara Men's Tennis players Guillaume Dalmasso and Christian Lerby were two of the six players named to the 2024 WCC Preseason Team, as voted by the league's nine head coaches. 
They finished the fall ranked No. 44 for Lerby and No. 102 for Dalmasso by the ITA in singles play. 
 
Dalmasso, an All-Conference selection in both singles and doubles, garnering second team honors in singles as a sophomore and a second team doubles player as a junior, posted a 4-4 record in the fall campaign.  One of his wins came against No. 57-ranked Matisse Bobichon of VCU in the ITA All-American Championships. 
 
Lerby entered the 2023-24 season ranked No. 84 in the ITA preseason national singles rankings after finishing last season ranked No. 117 in the ITA singles and ninth in the ITA Northwest Regional individual rankings.
 
An All-West Coast Conference second team singles selection last spring, Lerby compiled a 15-3 record after transferring mid-season from Arizona State.  During his stellar campaign last spring, Lerby defeated two ranked opponents in Columbia's Max Westphal (No. 75) and BYU's Wally Thayne (No. 123) and delivered the clinching point at 3-3 against No. 65 Gonzaga.
 
Santa Clara was picked to finish third in the conference by the same poll behind San Diego and Pepperdine who both made it to the NCAA Tournament last year. 

 
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