Sunday, March 26
Seattle, WA
12:00 PM
University of Washington
4
vs
3
Utah
Suko Comes Through In 4-3 Win Over No. 31 Utah
March 26, 2023 | Men's Tennis
SEATTLE – Washington Men's Tennis got a win in its first Pac-12 match, plus its first ranked win of the year, in a 4-3 slugfest against 31st-ranked Utah. The Utes (16-3, 1-1 Pac-12) had won fourteen matches in a row and had not lost in nearly two months but the Huskies (10-4, 1-0 Pac-12) ended that streak today at the Nordstrom Tennis Center.
Sophomore Nedim Suko came up with the huge final point with the dual tied at 3-3 and all the players and fans crowded around court four. Locked in a third set against Bruno Caula, even at 4-4, Suko had a tough service hold to take a 5-4 lead. He then broke Caula, winning on his second match point after a long rally by smashing a winner after Caula had just barely got a Suko passing shot back over the net. Suko fell on his back as the Dawgs piled on him.
"It was definitely a hard-earned win and we knew it would be going into it," said first year Head Coach Rahim Esmail, who got his first Pac-12 victory today as well. "We've trained for days like this and prepared ourselves that every day is going to be a battle. I'm just proud of the way our guys competed. Utah is very good and competes super hard. It was an extremely competitive match."
The Utes had won the past two meetings in the series and were coming off an upset over then-No. 7 Harvard, as well as a conference win at Oregon on Friday. But a Husky doubles point win followed by singles victories from Dzianis Zharyn, Cesar Bouchelaghem, and Suko, added up to the Husky win.
In doubles, Bouchelaghem and Zharyn broke serve for a 5-3 lead and then served out an upset over the 26th-ranked duo of Trhac/Bugarikj at the No. 1 spot. Then Han-Chih Lin and Jim Hendrikx clinched the point with a matching 6-3 win at No. 3 doubles over Bastias/Caula.
Bouchelaghem and Zharyn both looked to have their singles matches easily in hand, but Utah rallied on both courts to make the Huskies have to dig in. Zharyn was up a set and 5-1 at No. 2 singles over 85th-ranked Franco Capalbo, but Capalbo won four games in a row to tie it at 5-5. Zharyn won a deciding point on serve to make it 6-5, and then he broke in the next game to finish the first Husky singles point, 6-3, 7-5.
Bouchelaghem put the Huskies up, 3-2, with a win over Francisco Bastias at No. 3 singles. The sophomore was cruising up 6-3, 3-0, but Bastias fought back and forced a third set with a 7-5 win. But Bouchelaghem broke serve in the first game of the third set and never looked back, rolling to a 6-0 win to improve to 14-0 on the year.
The final two matches headed into third sets at close to the same time. Han-Chih Lin was facing 56th-ranked Geronimo Espin Busleiman at No. 1 singles. Lin won the first set in a tiebreak, but Espin Busleiman took the second set, 6-3, and took a quick early lead in the third and went on to win, 6-2, making the team score 3-all.
Suko had set points in the first set against Caula, but couldn't convert and dropped it, 5-7. But he came back to win the second, 6-4, and force a third. Suko won the first three games of the third, but Caula rallied again to tie it at 3-all. After going back and forth on serve, Suko got the final break for the 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 win.
"Nedim's a very passionate guy," said his coach. "He wears his heart on his sleeve and he cares a lot about what we are building here. I'm happy for him in moments like this that he can step up and come through. He respects the process and didn't worry too much about the results and just let himself play."
The Huskies will stay home next week for their next Pac-12 challenge, as Oregon comes in on Apr. 1 for a 1 p.m. match.
Washington Men's Tennis
March 26, 2023
Seattle, Wash. | Nordstrom Tennis Center
#53 Washington – 4
#31 Utah – 3
Singles
1. (#56) Geronimo Espin Busleiman (Utah) def. Han-Chih Lin (UW) – 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-2
2. Dzianis Zharyn (UW) def. (#85) Franco Capalbo (Utah) – 6-3, 7-5
3. (#102) Cesar Bouchelaghem (UW) def. Francisco Bastias (Utah) – 6-3, 5-7, 6-0
4. Nedim Suko (UW) def. Bruno Caula (Utah) – 5-7, 6-4, 6-4
5. Berk Bugarikj (Utah) def. Jim Hendrikx (UW) – 6-1, 6-4
6. Patrik Trhac (Utah) def. Brett Pearson (UW) – 7-5, 6-3
Order of Finish: 6, 5, 2, 3, 1, 4
Doubles
1. (#61) Zharyn/Bouchelaghem (UW) def. (#26) Trhac/Bugarikj (Utah) – 6-3
2. Suko/Pearson (UW) vs. Capalbo/Espin Busleiman (Utah) – 4-3, DNF
3. Lin/Hendrikx (UW) def. Bastias/Caula (Utah) – 6-3
Order of Finish: 1, 3
Sophomore Nedim Suko came up with the huge final point with the dual tied at 3-3 and all the players and fans crowded around court four. Locked in a third set against Bruno Caula, even at 4-4, Suko had a tough service hold to take a 5-4 lead. He then broke Caula, winning on his second match point after a long rally by smashing a winner after Caula had just barely got a Suko passing shot back over the net. Suko fell on his back as the Dawgs piled on him.
??NEDIM DOES IT??
— Washington Men's Tennis (@UW_MTennis) March 26, 2023
Dawgs knock off the 31st-ranked Utes????#GoHuskies pic.twitter.com/R9dyd74gaA
"It was definitely a hard-earned win and we knew it would be going into it," said first year Head Coach Rahim Esmail, who got his first Pac-12 victory today as well. "We've trained for days like this and prepared ourselves that every day is going to be a battle. I'm just proud of the way our guys competed. Utah is very good and competes super hard. It was an extremely competitive match."
The Utes had won the past two meetings in the series and were coming off an upset over then-No. 7 Harvard, as well as a conference win at Oregon on Friday. But a Husky doubles point win followed by singles victories from Dzianis Zharyn, Cesar Bouchelaghem, and Suko, added up to the Husky win.
In doubles, Bouchelaghem and Zharyn broke serve for a 5-3 lead and then served out an upset over the 26th-ranked duo of Trhac/Bugarikj at the No. 1 spot. Then Han-Chih Lin and Jim Hendrikx clinched the point with a matching 6-3 win at No. 3 doubles over Bastias/Caula.
Dawgs Clinch Doubles!!
— Washington Men's Tennis (@UW_MTennis) March 26, 2023
Hans and Jim break for the 6-3 win on 3?? moments after Cesar and Denis earned a 6-3 win on 1??
Denis and Cesar beat the No. 26 doubles duo ??#GoHuskies pic.twitter.com/uOnzk7Zgfr
Bouchelaghem and Zharyn both looked to have their singles matches easily in hand, but Utah rallied on both courts to make the Huskies have to dig in. Zharyn was up a set and 5-1 at No. 2 singles over 85th-ranked Franco Capalbo, but Capalbo won four games in a row to tie it at 5-5. Zharyn won a deciding point on serve to make it 6-5, and then he broke in the next game to finish the first Husky singles point, 6-3, 7-5.
Bouchelaghem put the Huskies up, 3-2, with a win over Francisco Bastias at No. 3 singles. The sophomore was cruising up 6-3, 3-0, but Bastias fought back and forced a third set with a 7-5 win. But Bouchelaghem broke serve in the first game of the third set and never looked back, rolling to a 6-0 win to improve to 14-0 on the year.
The final two matches headed into third sets at close to the same time. Han-Chih Lin was facing 56th-ranked Geronimo Espin Busleiman at No. 1 singles. Lin won the first set in a tiebreak, but Espin Busleiman took the second set, 6-3, and took a quick early lead in the third and went on to win, 6-2, making the team score 3-all.
Suko had set points in the first set against Caula, but couldn't convert and dropped it, 5-7. But he came back to win the second, 6-4, and force a third. Suko won the first three games of the third, but Caula rallied again to tie it at 3-all. After going back and forth on serve, Suko got the final break for the 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 win.
"Nedim's a very passionate guy," said his coach. "He wears his heart on his sleeve and he cares a lot about what we are building here. I'm happy for him in moments like this that he can step up and come through. He respects the process and didn't worry too much about the results and just let himself play."
The Huskies will stay home next week for their next Pac-12 challenge, as Oregon comes in on Apr. 1 for a 1 p.m. match.
Washington Men's Tennis
March 26, 2023
Seattle, Wash. | Nordstrom Tennis Center
#53 Washington – 4
#31 Utah – 3
Singles
1. (#56) Geronimo Espin Busleiman (Utah) def. Han-Chih Lin (UW) – 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-2
2. Dzianis Zharyn (UW) def. (#85) Franco Capalbo (Utah) – 6-3, 7-5
3. (#102) Cesar Bouchelaghem (UW) def. Francisco Bastias (Utah) – 6-3, 5-7, 6-0
4. Nedim Suko (UW) def. Bruno Caula (Utah) – 5-7, 6-4, 6-4
5. Berk Bugarikj (Utah) def. Jim Hendrikx (UW) – 6-1, 6-4
6. Patrik Trhac (Utah) def. Brett Pearson (UW) – 7-5, 6-3
Order of Finish: 6, 5, 2, 3, 1, 4
Doubles
1. (#61) Zharyn/Bouchelaghem (UW) def. (#26) Trhac/Bugarikj (Utah) – 6-3
2. Suko/Pearson (UW) vs. Capalbo/Espin Busleiman (Utah) – 4-3, DNF
3. Lin/Hendrikx (UW) def. Bastias/Caula (Utah) – 6-3
Order of Finish: 1, 3
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
cool guy #GoHuskies #universityofwashington #husky #dogsoftiktok #bark
Tuesday, December 02
Elite 8 🤝 Elite Trainer
Tuesday, December 02
Head Coach Danny Sprinkle Press Conference: December 1, 2025
Monday, December 01
Washington 1, Stanford 0 | Huskies Highlights
Monday, December 01
