Thursday, April 23
Fairfield, Calif.
12:00 PM
Saint Mary's College of California
1
vs
4
Santa Clara
Photo by: Campea Photography
MTEN | Gaels Put Up Valiant Effort but Fall to No. 35 Santa Clara in WCC Tournament
4/24/2026 9:09:00 AM | Men's Tennis
FAIRFIELD, Calif. - The Saint Mary's men's tennis team fought tooth and nail Thursday afternoon but fell in the opening round of the 2026 West Coast Conference tournament, 4-1 to three-seed and 35th ranked Santa Clara.
The Gaels put together close matches all across the board including 6-4 and 6-3 defeats out of the top two doubles positions. Thibaud Maxant and Finn Dyer went toe-to-toe with the 63rd ranked doubles team in the country out of the one spot, but fell 6-4 as Santa Clara went on to take the doubles point. Maxant helped earn the Gaels' lone point of the day with a dominant straight sets victory over Santa Clara's Alexander Eriksson out of the top spot, improving his singles record to 7-9 on the season.
Two of the other three deciding points needed a tiebreaker as the Gaels continued to fight late into the afternoon. Both Paulo Hugo Etchecoin and Juan Pedro Etchecoin needed tiebreakers in their respective matches before falling in straight sets. Sam Simmonds and Pierre Lietuaud also went unfinished with Simmonds winning his second set on a tiebreaker and Lieutaud knotted at three in his opening set out of the six-spot.
Full match results can be found below:
Saint Mary's (CA) vs Santa Clara
4/23/2026 at Fairfield, Calif.
(Green Valley Country Club)
#35 Santa Clara 4, Saint Mary's (CA) 1
Singles competition
1. Thibaud Maxant (SMC) def. Alexander W Eriksson (SCUMTEN) 6-1, 6-4
2. Luca Lemaitre (SCUMTEN) def. Paulo Hugo Etchecoin (SMC) 6-3, 7-6 (7-1)
3. John Kim (SCUMTEN) def. Finn Dyer (SMC) 6-2, 6-3
4. Lukas Maskow (SCUMTEN) def. Juan Pedro Etchecoin (SMC) 7-6 (7-5), 6-2
5. Valentin Faure (SCUMTEN) vs. Sam Simmonds (SMC) 6-0, 6-7 (2-7), 3-1, unfinished
6. Ferran Redza (SCUMTEN) vs. Pierre Lieutaud (SMC) 3-3, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. #63 Luca Bluett/John Kim (SCUMTEN) def. Finn Dyer/Thibaud Maxant (SMC) 6-4
2. Tiago Boschmans/Luca Lemaitre (SCUMTEN) def. Juan Pedro Etchecoin/Paulo Hugo Etchecoin (SMC) 6-3
3. Valentin Faure/Ferran Redza (SCUMTEN) vs. Joey Lyon/Bastien Maxant (SMC) 5-3, unfinished
Match Notes:
Saint Mary's (CA) 9-14
Santa Clara 20-3; National ranking #35
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (1,3,2,4)
WCC Tournament Opening Round
Saint Mary's concludes the 2026 spring season with a 9-14 overall record and a 2-5 record in conference play. Full match results and stats can be found at smcgaels.com.
Be sure to follow your Gaels on Facebook, Instagram, and X to get all the latest Saint Mary's athletics updates and information.
#GaelsRise
The Gaels put together close matches all across the board including 6-4 and 6-3 defeats out of the top two doubles positions. Thibaud Maxant and Finn Dyer went toe-to-toe with the 63rd ranked doubles team in the country out of the one spot, but fell 6-4 as Santa Clara went on to take the doubles point. Maxant helped earn the Gaels' lone point of the day with a dominant straight sets victory over Santa Clara's Alexander Eriksson out of the top spot, improving his singles record to 7-9 on the season.
Two of the other three deciding points needed a tiebreaker as the Gaels continued to fight late into the afternoon. Both Paulo Hugo Etchecoin and Juan Pedro Etchecoin needed tiebreakers in their respective matches before falling in straight sets. Sam Simmonds and Pierre Lietuaud also went unfinished with Simmonds winning his second set on a tiebreaker and Lieutaud knotted at three in his opening set out of the six-spot.
Full match results can be found below:
Saint Mary's (CA) vs Santa Clara
4/23/2026 at Fairfield, Calif.
(Green Valley Country Club)
#35 Santa Clara 4, Saint Mary's (CA) 1
Singles competition
1. Thibaud Maxant (SMC) def. Alexander W Eriksson (SCUMTEN) 6-1, 6-4
2. Luca Lemaitre (SCUMTEN) def. Paulo Hugo Etchecoin (SMC) 6-3, 7-6 (7-1)
3. John Kim (SCUMTEN) def. Finn Dyer (SMC) 6-2, 6-3
4. Lukas Maskow (SCUMTEN) def. Juan Pedro Etchecoin (SMC) 7-6 (7-5), 6-2
5. Valentin Faure (SCUMTEN) vs. Sam Simmonds (SMC) 6-0, 6-7 (2-7), 3-1, unfinished
6. Ferran Redza (SCUMTEN) vs. Pierre Lieutaud (SMC) 3-3, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. #63 Luca Bluett/John Kim (SCUMTEN) def. Finn Dyer/Thibaud Maxant (SMC) 6-4
2. Tiago Boschmans/Luca Lemaitre (SCUMTEN) def. Juan Pedro Etchecoin/Paulo Hugo Etchecoin (SMC) 6-3
3. Valentin Faure/Ferran Redza (SCUMTEN) vs. Joey Lyon/Bastien Maxant (SMC) 5-3, unfinished
Match Notes:
Saint Mary's (CA) 9-14
Santa Clara 20-3; National ranking #35
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (1,3,2,4)
WCC Tournament Opening Round
Saint Mary's concludes the 2026 spring season with a 9-14 overall record and a 2-5 record in conference play. Full match results and stats can be found at smcgaels.com.
Be sure to follow your Gaels on Facebook, Instagram, and X to get all the latest Saint Mary's athletics updates and information.
#GaelsRise
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
2,1
#1 Singles Match
12
66
Alexander W Eriksson / 0 [SCUMTEN]
14
#2 Singles Match
12
36
Luca Lemaitre / 0 [SCUMTEN]
67
#3 Singles Match
12
23
John Kim / 0 [SCUMTEN]
66
#4 Singles Match
12
62
Lukas Maskow / 0 [SCUMTEN]
76
#5 Singles Match
1234
071UF
Valentin Faure / 0 [SCUMTEN]
663UF
#6 Singles Match
12
3UF
Ferran Redza / 0 [SCUMTEN]
3UF
Order of Finish:
1,3,2,4
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
MTEN | Dan Cardiff Halftime Interview at WBB vs. Pacific
Monday, February 16
