Santa Clara men top rival in WCC tourney thriller

   The fourth-seeded Santa Clara men edged ninth-seeded Saint Mary's 4-3 today in a thrilling first-round match at the West Coast Conference Championships in San Diego.
   The 59th-ranked Broncos (16-6) trailed the Gaels (8-13) 3-2 before pulling out two three-set victories to advance. Ilya Osintsev outlasted Tuomas Manner 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 at No. 2 singles to tie the match, and John Lamble won it with a 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-3 decision over Joakim Norstrom at No. 1 singles.
   Lamble, a senior from Saratoga, was named to the All-WCC first team in singles and doubles (with Osintsev) on Monday. Osintsev, a junior from Russia, made the second team in singles.
   Santa Clara will face another San Francisco Bay Area rival, USF, in the quarterfinals on Thursday at 9 a.m. (PDT). The eighth-seeded Dons (15-13) eliminated fifth-seeded Loyola Marymount 4-1.
   Seventh-seeded Pacific (12-11) defeated No. 6 BYU 4-2. The Tigers will meet No. 3 Portland, a 4-2 winner over No. 10 Gonzaga, at 9 a.m.
   No. 1 San Diego and No. 2 Pepperdine received byes into Friday's semifinals.
   The women's WCC tournament also is being held in San Diego. No. 3 Saint Mary's, No. 4 Santa Clara and No. 6 USF coasted to 4-0 victories in the first round. The Gaels ousted No. 10 Pacific.
   In Thursday's quarterfinals, No. 3 Saint Mary's (13-7) will play No. 6 USF (16-7), and No. 4 Santa Clara (11-9) will take on No. 5 San Diego. Both matches are scheduled to start at 12:30 p.m.
   No. 1 Pepperdine and No. 2 BYU earned byes into Friday's semis.
   In the Mountain West Conference Women's Championships in Fresno, sixth-seeded San  Jose State reached the quarterfinals with a 4-0 victory over 11th-seeded Colorado State.
   The Spartans (12-13) will meet third-seeded San Diego State on Friday.
   Meanwhile, San Jose State's Marie Klocker and Gaelle Rey -- freshmen from France and Switzerland, respectively -- were named to the 16-player All-Mountain West singles first team and the eight-team all-conference doubles squad. Rey, who went 19-12 playing primarily No. 2 singles, shared Freshman of the Year honors with Lizette Blankers of New Mexico.