UCLA
Florida
No. 2 Bruins Begin Pac-12/SEC Challenge With a Victory
February 01, 2014 | Men's Tennis
After both teams traded wins at court Nos. 2 and 3, Saturday's doubles point came down to court No. 1, where UCLA's 10th-ranked Mackenzie McDonald and Marcos Giron were in a tight battle with Florida's Michael Alford and Stephane Piro. The match was ultimately decided by a thrilling tiebreaker, where Alford and Piro prevailed 10-8.
Following doubles, UCLA took a 2-0 lead in the match when Florida's top player Spencer Newman was forced to retire in the first set of his match against top-ranked Clay Thompson at court No. 1. Thompson was leading 4-3 at the time of retirement.
Bruin freshman Gage Brymer then put the Bruins ahead 3-0 when he dominated 53rd-ranked Elliott Orkin at court No. 4, winning 6-1, 6-1. Brymer is currently ranked No. 120 in the ITA Singles Rankings.
Brymer's win put UCLA within a point of clinching the match and the Bruins would get that clinching win at court No. 6, where Dennis Mkrtchian beat Gator Florent Diep, 6-3, 6-5(2).
The loss marks Florida's first of the season, as the Gators are now 3-1 on the year. Florida will take on No. 4 USC on Sunday following the UCLA-Georgia match.
There is no cost for admission to the Pac-12/SEC Challenge.
Pac-12/SEC Challenge
#2 UCLA 4, #11 Florida 1
Feb 01, 2014 at Los Angeles, CA (Marks Tennis Stadium)
| Doubles |
| 1. Michael Alford/Piro (UF) def. #10 Giron/McDonald (UCLA) 6-5(8) |
| 2. Joseph Di Giulio/Thompson (UCLA) def. Lipman/Watson (UF) 6-3 |
| 3. Hidalgo/Newman (UF) def. Mkrtchian/Sell (UCLA) 6-3 |
Florida Wins Doubles Point
| Singles |
| 1. #1 Clay Thompson (UCLA) def. Spencer Newman (UF) 4-3, retired |
| 2. #11 Marcos Giron (UCLA) vs. Diego Hidalgo (UF) 5-6, 3-2, unfinished |
| 3. #62 Mackenzie McDonald (UCLA) def. #111 Gordon Watson (UF) 6-4, 6-1 |
| 4. #120 Gage Brymer (UCLA) def. #53 Elliott Orkin (UF) 6-1, 6-1 |
| 5. #63 Karue Sell (UCLA) vs. #109 Maxx Lipman (UF) 4-6, 4-5, unfinished |
| 6. Dennis Mkrtchian (UCLA) def. Florent Diep (UF) 6-3, 6-5(2) |
| Match Notes |
| Florida 3-1; National ranking #11 |
| UCLA 4-0; National ranking #2 |
| Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (1,4,3,6) |
Players Mentioned
