Toreros take down Lions as tennis season heats up

USD Men’s Tennis gets off to a confident 1-0 start in WCC play 

MARI OLSON / SPORTS EDITOR / THE USD VISTA

The University of San Diego Men’s Tennis team kicked off their West Coast Conference (WCC) schedule on Friday, Feb. 18, posting a shutout win over the Loyola Marymount University (LMU) Lions at the Skip and Cindy Hogan Tennis Center. With five seniors playing for the Toreros this season, the tennis team is ready to hit the ground running in their pursuit of yet another conference title.

Head coach Ryan Keckley, entering his tenth season at USD, was excited before the match for the team’s season to start ramping up. 

“I think we’ve had a magnificent couple of months, but we’re underplayed,” Keckley said. “I think the four matches that we’ve had so far, we’ve done a fantastic job owning our identity and really playing to the tangibles that will give us success moving forward.” 

USD was 3-1 going into the match against LMU on Friday. Non-conference wins over University of California, Irvine, University of California, Santa Barbara, and Arizona State University (ASU) were confidence boosters for the Toreros. 

Keckley noted that the victory against ASU was especially notable for the team. 

“It was a very challenging Arizona State team, who we’ve lost to the last three years. So it was great to get a 4-3 win,” Keckley said. “So to do it at their place, at 1500 feet elevation, was a testament to the toughness that I think this team has and will have moving forward.” 

In another show of strength, the Toreros won 4-0 over the Lions on Friday, with two of the three doubles teams defeating their opponents. 

Redshirt senior August Holmgren, ranked no. 7 in the country, defeated LMU’s redshirt senior Manoel de Alencar 6-1, 6-2 in an exciting match up on Court 1. 

Meanwhile, on Court 3, first-year Iiro Vasa was busy toppling LMU junior John Otico, eventually winning his match 6-3, 6-1. 

Senior Alex Stater, who won 6-1, 6-2 over LMU graduate student Rana-Roop Bhullar, clinched the victory for the Toreros. 

Since the Toreros achieved the victory with four wins, the other three matches were left unfinished. Only seven points are available in collegiate tennis matches, and once a team has earned four points, through a doubles win and three singles wins, the opposing team is no longer able to earn enough points to win. Graduate student Gui Osorio, senior Will Davies, and redshirt sophomore Marvin Schaber all split sets with their LMU opponents. 

It’s a step in the right direction for Keckley, as USD looks to win another WCC championship and make a name for themselves on the national stage this season. The Toreros won six WCC titles in a row before a turbulent season in 2021 and the canceled 2020 season. 

“Every year we’re trying to win the WCC and each year it gets more and more challenging, because every team’s doing a great job,” Keckley said. 

An opening WCC win certainly puts the team on track toward that goal. 

Keckley also talked about how the attitude of the team is one of the most important aspects of reaching their goals this season. 

“Our guys are great because they really do believe in the process. Every day we’re working to solidify the fundamentals and each person’s identity on the tennis court, and I think our guys do a wonderful job listening and learning the sport,” Keckley said. “It really is just a day to day grind. And they believe in it, and they work hard, and our team culture is in a wonderful place where they’re all working and learning together.” 

Keckley emphasized the team’s desire to continue moving forward positively this season. 

“It really is just each day growing and each match growing and building up more confidence,” Keckley said. “That’s really what it’s about, building confidence and preparing our guys in the right ways so that when our competition comes to town we’re ready to handle any kind of adversity that they throw at us.”

As the season starts to ramp up, Keckley is planning to take every match one at a time.

“Every match we look at as an opportunity, regardless if it’s WCC, PAC-12, Big 12, every match is an opportunity to go out and prove to the country who we are, that we are a top 25 team in the country and that we do have a competitiveness about us that is going to make every match challenging,” Keckley said. 

The USD Men’s Tennis team is currently ranked no. 25 in the country. With big contests coming up in the schedule, the Toreros will be looking to improve that standing. Keckley highlighted a few of the most important matches in the next couple of months.

“[University of California, Los Angeles] on our home courts in March is gonna be a really spicy match. Pepperdine [University] in April, I think that’s going to be a very exciting match, just given the rivalry between the two institutions. We have a top-20 Harvard [University] team on our home courts in March as well,” Keckley said. 

After a disappointing season last spring (9-10), when the Toreros were severely affected by cases of COVID-19 and injuries, Keckley is thrilled that his team has gotten off to a strong start. 

“I think getting off to a solid start really boosted not only the coaches’ confidence but the players’ confidence that we are doing the right things,” Keckley said. “It’s just exciting to see how far this team can go because we have a very good six [singles players], we have a very good one who is now ranked number seven in the country, and our doubles is a perk. So when you have that recipe, I think you become a very dangerous team.”

Keckley encouraged fans to come out and support the Toreros at their brand new tennis center. 

“It is an awesome time,” Keckley emphasized. “Hopefully people can come out and enjoy the competitive tennis, enjoy the environment that we’ve tried to create and enjoy the new facility, and see why this university and this sport is so special.” 

Men’s tennis also took on the University of Oregon on Sunday, Feb. 20 at the Hogan Tennis Center in a challenging matchup. 

The Toreros worked hard to beat the Ducks 4-0, with Davies, Schaber, and Vasa playing key roles in the victory. 

The next WCC match for USD will be against Gonzaga University on Sunday, Feb. 27, at home.