SAN DIEGO, Calif. - Saint Mary's made their first postseason appearance since 2023 and saw a familiar foe in three-seed Santa Clara Thursday afternoon. The Gaels took the match to the very end as four duals required a third set and were not finished, keeping the match alive for Saint Mary's. Santa Clara earned the doubles point with wins from their top pairs and then got singles wins from their one, four and six spots to seal the 4-0 match victory and advance to the semi-finals. 

Senior Thibaud Maxant forced a third set in his dual after dropping the first set 7-5. Maxant fought his way back with a 6-3 second set win but found himself down 4-1 in the third before the match was decided. Maxant finished his senior campaign 2-2 over his last seven duals, making him a tough draw for any player that stands across from him. 

Freshman Finn Dyer also forced a deciding third set after winning 7-3 on a tiebreaker in his second set and Bastien Maxant was up 5-4 in the second set as well before the match was called. Santa Clara was pushed to their limits and with the two team's recent history, nothing else was expected. The Gaels have gone 2-2 in their last four matches with Santa Clara prior to this season with all four being decided by just one point. 

Carlos Ramos Membrives, Pierre Lieutaud and Francisco Duran were the three dual wins for Santa Clara that helped them clinch the match victory and send them onto the semi-finals to take on two-seed Pepperdine. Full match results can be found below:

 

Saint Mary's finished the 2025 spring season 5-17 overall and 2-5 in conference action but earned a spot in the WCC Tournament for the first time in two years. Final results and statistics for the season can be found at smcgaels.com. 

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