Athletics: Sophomore Duo Keeping No. 13 Men’s Tennis Hungry and Humble as WCC Play Arrives

For the No. 13 USD men's tennis team, they've been focused on being hungry, but also humble while competing against some of the best teams in the country. Having that drive, but in a modest technique goes a long way, especially for the mental aspect that tennis provides.

That approach men's tennis head coach Ryan Keckley has been telling his players has been a big part in the team beginning the season 15-2.

"I think those are two very important words for this group and I think this is something we preach that has to be processed driven," said Keckley, who is in his ninth season at the helm. "We started at a certain point, and we continue to work on every aspect of the game from our foundation, to our mental, to our competitive side and over the course of days and weeks and months, we got better."

The Toreros (15-2, 2-0 West Coast Conference), who have gone a perfect 11-0 at the Hogan Tennis Center this spring, have continued to take those steps necessary to have a successful conference schedule as they look to defend their regular season conference title.

San Diego has played 10 matches against ranked competition, including as high as facing No. 7 Southern California that came away from home.

In those 10 matches against ranked competition, USD went 8-2, including a nail-biting 4-3 victory over then-No. 10 Arizona on February 2 for the program's first win against a top-10 team in two years.

One month after taking on the Wildcats, the Toreros took a flight to the middle of the country to face then-No. 47 Oklahoma and then-No. 26 Oklahoma State. Against the Sooners, San Diego had to will themselves to get some momentum, facing a deficit and was able to win five of six doubles sets as sophomore Lambert Ruland and graduate student Savriyan Danilov won their match 7-5 while the sophomore duo of Oliver Tarvet and Stian Klaassen secured their match, winning 8-7 in a tiebreaker to earn the doubles point.

Keckley said playing ranked competition, especially on the road like at Oklahoma, has helped this squad learn more who this team is as conference play begins.

"I think that we're a gritty team, regardless of the situation that we find ourselves in," Keckley said. "I think everyone understands that there's a fight that's going to be had."

To read the full story, visit USD Men's Tennis. 

— USD News Center