University of Washington
Santa Clara
No. 11 Huskies Open Up 2004 Dual Season With 7-0 Win Over Santa Clara
January 23, 2004 | Men's Tennis
Jan. 23, 2004
SEATTLE, Wash. - Washington's eleventh-ranked men's tennis team received a solid performance from top to bottom as it opened its 2004 campaign with a 7-0 sweep over the Broncos of Santa Clara. Washington (1-0) was in control from the outset and did not drop a single set versus the Broncos (2-1), for the second straight year.
Washington started out quickly by sweeping the doubles matches to take a 1-0 lead, led by the 11th-ranked combo of Alex Slovic and Alex Vlaski who had little trouble picking up an 8-2 win over Fischer and Kochanski of Santa Clara. The Huskies maintained their focus into the singles competition where Vlaski's 6-3, 6-2 win over Gernot Fischer at No. 1 singles clinched the win for Washington with three matches still in progress.
The win marked the first of likely many singles wins for the junior Vlaski (Belgrade, Yugoslavia), who is ranked second in the nation. Having won the ITA All-American Singles Championship this fall, Vlaski is one of the early favorites to contend for the NCAA Championship in May.
Three Huskies made their dual debuts Friday, most notably 53rd-ranked freshman Alex Slovic (Pancevo, Yugoslavia). Slovic teamed with fellow Husky and countryman Alex Vlaski to win the ITA Regional Doubles crown in October and Friday night he exhibited the skill that already has him manning the number two singles spot by defeating Erich Chen without giving up a single game. Also picking up wins in their first ever dual matches for Washington was freshman Daniel Chu (Vancouver, B.C.) at No. 4 singles and local product Chris Floyd (Mercer Island, Wash.) in the sixth singles spot. Chu's match contained the most drama, as he was taken to two tiebreaks by Taylor Bedilion but came through under pressure and finished off the sweep. Floyd won 6-4, 6-3.
The Huskies next return to action Friday, Jan. 30 against the 70th-ranked Pacific Tigers at 4:00 p.m. at the Lloyd Nordstrom Tennis Center. Pacific is the first of 13 ranked opponents on tap for Washington.
Washington Men's Tennis vs. Santa Clara
January 23, 2004 - Lloyd Nordstrom Tennis Center
No. 11 Washington 7, Santa Clara 0
Doubles
1. (11) Slovic & Vlaksi (UW) def. Fischer & Kochanski (Santa Clara) 8-2
2. Chu & Weiss (UW) def. Chen & McQuaid (Santa Clara) 8-6
3. Felsenthal & Scharler (UW) def. Bedelion & Hidalgo (Santa Clara) 8-5
Singles
1. (2) Alex Vlaski (UW) def. Gernot Fischer (Santa Clara) 6-3, 6-2
2. (53) Alex Slovic (UW) def. Erich Chen (Santa Clara) 6-0, 6-0
3. (61) Christoph Palmanshofer (UW) def. Eric Kochanski (Santa Clara) 6-1, 6-3
4. Daniel Chu (UW) def. Taylor Bedilion (Santa Clara) 7-6 (5), 7-6 (8)
5. Peter Scharler (UW) def. Francisco Zepponi (Santa Clara) 6-2, 6-4
6. Chris Floyd (UW) def. Kevin McQuaid (Santa Clara) 6-4, 6-3
