UCLA
Duke
Men's Tennis Beats Duke
March 14, 2000 | Men's Tennis
March 14, 2000
LOS ANGELES - The No. 2 UCLA men's tennis team defeated No. 3 Duke 5-2 Tuesday at the Los Angeles Tennis Center. With the win, UCLA improves to 14-2 overall, while Duke drops to 9-2.
The Bruins took an early lead when they clinched the doubles point after making a clean sweep in doubles play. On court No. 3, UCLA's tandem of Lassi Ketola and Travis Rettenmaier pulled ahead of Duke's Porter Jones and Michael Yani 3-2 before Duke was forced to retire. Earlier in the match, Yani had been hit in the eye with a ball and played with an eye patch until he withdrew from competition. Court No. 2 was next to finish, as UCLA's duo of Jean-Noel Grinda and Jean-Julien Rojer cruised to an 8-4 win over Duke's Andres Pedroso and Ted Reuger. In the top position, the UCLA team of Brandon Kramer and Jong-Min Lee trailed 0-1, then pulled ahead 2-1 and did not give up the lead, upsetting Duke's Doug Root and Ramsey Smith, ranked No. 3 in the nation, 8-6.
In singles action, UCLA grabbed wins on courts No. 1, 2, 4 and 6. Duke secured the first singles point of the day when Jones defeated Ketola 6-2, 6-1 on court No. 5. Next to finish was court No. 6, where Bruin freshman Erfan Djahangiri bageled Marko Cerenko 6-0 in the first set and held on for a 7-6(2) win in the second. Kramer, ranked 53 nationally, put the Bruins ahead 3-1 when he won 6-3, 6-4 over No. 37 Doug Root on court No. 2.
The Blue Devils earned their second and final point of the day when Pedroso, ranked No. 43 in the nation, defeated Grinda, who recently returned to the singles lineup after suffering back and shoulder injuries, 6-4, 7-5 on court No. 3. UCLA clinched the match when Lee, ranked No. 73 in the nation, bested No. 21 Ramsey Smith 6-4, 6-2 in the top position. Last to finish was Rojer, who fell to Duke's Joel Spicher 5-7 in the first set and then battled back 6-0, 6-4 on court No. 4.
Today's match marks the second time both teams have met this season. On February 26, UCLA upset Duke 5-2 in the semifinals of the National Team Indoor Championships and later advanced to the finals before falling 4-3 to Stanford. All-time, UCLA leads the series against Duke 8-1.
UCLA will have next week off to prepare for a showdown against crosstown rival USC on Friday, March 31 at 1:30 pm on the USC campus. UCLA defeated USC 5-2 at home earlier this season and will be looking to sweep regular-season play against the No. 19 Trojans.
Doubles
UCLA wins point
No. 1 (23) Jong-Min Lee / Brandon Kramer (UCLA) def. (3) Doug Root / Ramsey
Smith (Duke) 8-6
No. 2 Jean-Noel Grinda / Jean-Julien Rojer (UCLA) def. Andres Pedroso / Ted
Rueger (Duke) 8-4
No. 3 Lassi Ketola / Travis Rettenmaier (UCLA) def. Porter Jones / Michael
Yani (Duke) Retired
Singles
No. 1 (73) Jong-Min Lee (UCLA) def. (t21) Ramsey Smith (Duke) 6-4, 6-2
No. 2 (53) Brandon Kramer (UCLA) def. (37) Doug Root (Duke) 6-3, 6-4
No. 3 (43) Andres Pedroso (Duke) def. Jean-Noel Grinda 6-4, 7-5
No. 4 (70) Jean-Julien Rojer (UCLA) def. Joel Spicher (Duke) 5-7, 6-0,
6-4
No. 5 Porter Jones (Duke) def. Lassi Ketola (UCLA) 6-2, 6-1
No. 6 Erfan Djahangiri (UCLA) def. (71) Marko Cerenko (Duke) 6-0, 7-6(2)
Final Team Score: UCLA 5, Duke 2
