UCLA
Florida
Fourth-Ranked Bruins Edged by No. 17 Florida, 4-3
February 01, 2015 | Men's Tennis
For the second-straight match in Georgia, UCLA (3-2) was unable to secure the doubles point, posting its lone win at court No. 1, where 11th-ranked Mackenzie McDonald and Martin Redlicki downed 32nd-ranked Diego Hidalgo and Gordon Watson, 6-1. Unfortunately for the Bruins, Florida (4-2) took victories at court Nos. 2 and 3 to take a 1-0 lead heading into singles play.
The Bruins responded in singles, taking a 2-1 lead in the match following straight set wins by McDonald and Dennis Mkrtchian at court Nos. 1 and 2, respectively. UCLA's lead was short-lived, however, as the Gators would notch two consecutive wins of their own at the Nos. 3 and 4 positions to go ahead 3-2.
Two matches remained on court at that point and UCLA needed both to pull off the victory. Bruin freshman Austin Rapp would even things up at 3-3 at court No. 6, where he was a 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 winner over Joshua Wardell. That win turned all the focus onto court No. 5, where sophomore Joseph Di Giulio was in a tight match with Oliver Landert. Landert would pull through in the end, taking a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 win to give the Gators the narrow 4-3 win.
UCLA now turns its attention to a pair of non-conference home matches next week, as the Bruins will host San Diego State on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. and St. Mary's on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. Both matches will be at UCLA's Los Angeles Tennis Center.
SEC/Pac-12 Showdown
#17 Florida 4, #4 UCLA 3
Feb. 1, 2015 at Athens, Ga. (Lindsey Hopkins Indoor Facility)
| Doubles |
| 1. #11 McDonald/Redlicki (UCLA) def. #32 Hidalgo/Watson (UF) 6-1 |
| 2. #49 Lipman/Orkin (UF) def. Di Giulio/Karue Sell (UCLA) 6-0 |
| 3. #43 Landert/Wardell (UF) def. Mkrtchian/Rapp (UCLA) 6-4 |
Florida Wins Doubles Point
| Singles |
| 1. #7 Mackenzie McDonald (UCLA) def. #34 Maxx Lipman (UF) 6-1, 6-1 |
| 2. Dennis Mkrtchian (UCLA) def. #81 Elliott Orkin (UF) 6-4, 6-1 |
| 3. #60 Diego Hidalgo (UF) def. Gage Brymer (UCLA) 6-4, 6-3 |
| 4. Gordon Watson (UF) def. #88 Martin Redlicki (UCLA) 7-6(4), 2-6, 6-3 |
| 5. Oliver Landert (UF) def. Joseph Di Giulio (UCLA) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 |
| 6. #90 Austin Rapp (UCLA) def. Joshua Wardell (UF) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 |
| Match Notes |
| UCLA 3-2; National ranking #4 |
| Florida 4-2; National ranking #17 |
| Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (1,2,3,4,6,5) |
| SEC/Pac-12 Showdown |
| Official: Clark Weaver T-3:33 A-196 |
Players Mentioned
