SANTA CLARA, Calif. – No. 16 San Diego men's tennis dropped a 4-2 road decision to No. 44 Santa Clara on Saturday at the Degheri Tennis Center, suffering just its fifth loss of the season in a pivotal West Coast Conference clash to round out the regular season.
With USD's first conference defeat – first overall loss in 11 matches, first since March 3 – three teams are crowned WCC regular season co-champions in No. 28 Pepperdine, Santa Clara and the Toreros, who would've clinched outright victory with the win. San Diego will be the No. 1 seed at the conference tournament which commences next Friday, April 24 for the Toreros in Fairfield, Calif.
The Toreros claimed the doubles point to take the early lead Saturday, with the nationally ranked No. 27 duo of Adrien Berrut and Lambert Ruland continuing their winning ways on main court, defeating the 64th-ranked pairing of Luca Bluett and John Kim 6-3. All-American tandem Stian Klaassen and Oliver Tarvet backed them up on court two with a matching 6-3 victory over Tiago Boschmans and Luca Lemaitre to clinch the point, with court three left unfinished.
Santa Clara responded by winning four of five completed singles matches to take the dual: on courts two, three, five and six. The lone bright spot for USD came on court four, where Ruland backed up his doubles effort with a gritty 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 singles victory over Lukas Maskow. No. 19 Oliver Tarvet's match on court one was left unfinished with the outcome already decided, knotted at 5-7, 6-3, 2-3.
Results
#44 Santa Clara 4, #16 San Diego 2
April 18, 2026 | Santa Clara, Calif. – Degheri Tennis Center
San Diego (18-5, 6-1 WCC) | Santa Clara (19-3, 6-1 WCC)
Doubles
1. #27 Adrien Berrut/Lambert Ruland (USD) def. #64 Luca Bluett/John Kim (SCU) 6-3
2. Stian Klaassen/Oliver Tarvet (USD) def. Tiago Boschmans/Luca Lemaitre (SCU) 6-3
3. Valentin Faure/Ferran Redza (SCU) vs. Manvydas Balciunas/Luc Wieland (USD) 4-3, unfinished
Singles
1. Alexander Eriksson (SCU) vs. #19 Oliver Tarvet (USD) 5-7, 6-3, 2-3, unfinished
2. Luca Lemaitre (SCU) def. Stian Klaassen (USD) 5-7, 6-3, 6-4
3. John Kim (SCU) def. #80 Manvydas Balciunas (USD) 7-6 (7-3), 2-6, 6-4
4. Lambert Ruland (USD) def. Lukas Maskow (SCU) 7-6 (7-3), 6-4
5. Valentin Faure (SCU) def. Neo Niedner (USD) 6-4, 6-3
6. Ferran Redza (SCU) def. Luc Wieland (USD) 6-1, 6-4
Order of finish: Doubles -- 1, 2; Singles -- 5, 6, 4, 3, 2
