Karue SellKarue Sell
Scott Chandler

Bruins Drop Heartbreaker In Tulsa

Men's Tennis

No. 2 UCLA falls to No. 10 Oklahoma, 4-3, in NCAA quarterfinals.

TULSA, Okla. – Despite rallying from a 2-0 deficit to knot the score at 3-3, the second-ranked UCLA men's tennis team fell to No. 10 Oklahoma in a heartbreaker on Sunday evening.  The Sooners edged the Bruins, 4-3, in the NCAA quarterfinals to end UCLA's quest for the 2016 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis title. 

"We have had some really good matches with Oklahoma in the past three years, and we haven't been successful," said UCLA head coach Billy Martin of the loss.  "The doubles point was really crucial, and I thought that we fought back really good in the No. 2 doubles position.

"I thought we fought pretty well in singles too," added Martin.  "Obviously, we had a chance to win that No. 6 singles position after being up a set, and that's one we probably shouldn't have let slip away but unfortunately we did."

The Bruins (25-3) trailed 1-0 after dropping the doubles point to the Sooners.  Maxime Cressy and Austin Rapp made quick work of Andre Biro and Max Mora on court 3.  Cressy held to give UCLA a 4-1 advantage heading into Oklahoma's serve.  The Bruin pair then broke their opponents to inch closer to victory.  Rapp sealed the deal when he held at 40-0 to take the set 6-1. 

Back-and-forth battles ensued on the front courts as both Bruin duos rallied from early deficits.  On court 1, the second-ranked duo of Mackenzie McDonald and Martin Redlicki held to put a point on the board for UCLA.  The pairs then traded game for game, failing to break their foes.  Up 5-3, the 24th-ranked pair of Axel Alvarez and Andrew Harris held at 40-30 to register the 6-3 upset. 

All eyes turned to court 2, where Joseph Di Giulio and Karue Sell had knotted the score at 4-4 after breaking Alex Ghilea and Spencer Papa.  After trading two games apiece, the set headed into the tiebreaker.  Despite rallying from a 5-2 deficit, Di Giulio and Sell were unable to overtake Ghilea and Papa.  The Bruins lost the tiebreaker 7-4, and the Sooners clinched the doubles point.

Oklahoma carried this momentum into singles play, taking three of six first sets and making UCLA work for its three sets.  No. 38 Redlicki led 4-3 in the first on court 2, but No. 25 Alvarez rallied to push the set to 6-5.  Redlicki then held to edge the Sooner, 7-5.  On court 4, No. 101 Sell took the first set over No. 61 Ghilea in the tiebreaker, 7-3.  At the bottom of the lineup, Di Giulio broke Biro to register a 6-4 win. 

The Sooners struck first in singles when No. 82 Papa downed No. 58 Gage Brymer, 6-3, 7-5, on court 3.  Brymer trailed 5-3 in the second set, but won two straight games to knot it at 5-5.  Papa broke Brymer to regain the lead, then held to give Oklahoma a 2-0 advantage over UCLA.

Sell registered the first Bruin point of the match when he cruised past Ghilea, 6-3, in the second set to cut the Sooners' lead to 2-1. 

Oklahoma's Florin Bragusi responded on court 5 with a straight-set win over Logan Staggs.  The Bruin mounted a late surge and broke Bragusi to tie it up at 5-5, but Bragusi broke back and then held to inch the Sooners closer to victory.

On court 2, Redlicki and Alvarez took it down to the wire in the second set.  Alvarez broke Redlicki to send the set into the tiebreaker.  It was neck and neck, but Redlicki outlasted his opponent to take the breaker 7-5 and put the Bruins within one. 

UCLA trailed 3-2 with the two remaining matches deep in their third sets. 

After dropping the first set at the top of the lineup, sixth-ranked McDonald dispatched No. 97 Harris, 6-2, in the second set to force a third.  McDonald jumped out to an early 5-2 lead, but Harris won three straight games to knot the score at 5-5.  The Bruin junior held and then broke Harris at 40-30 to register the equalizer. 

UCLA and Oklahoma were tied at 3-3 with one match still playing. 

After winning the first set, Di Giulio dropped the second, 7-5.  In the third, Di Giulio registered two quick wins to take a 2-0 lead.  Biro broke back and then held to even the score at 2-2.  Continuing this momentum, Biro went up 4-2.  Di Giulio held to cut the deficit to 4-3, but was unable to overcome Biro, who closed out the match with two straight wins to seal the deal for Oklahoma. 

"There were two good teams fighting their hearts out today, and unfortunately we were on the bottom side," said Martin.  "There is nothing to be ashamed of because that is a really good team."

Next up, McDonald and Redlicki compete in the Division 1 singles championship to take place following the team championship.  McDonald received an automatic bid and Redlicki an at-large bid.  Brymer is an alternate for the tournament.  McDonald and Redlicki will also compete in the doubles championship.  

#10 Oklahoma (19-10) def. #2 UCLA (25-3), 4-3
Tulsa, Okla. (Michael D. Case Tennis Center)

Doubles
1. #24 Axel Alvarez/Andrew Harris (Oklahoma) def. #2 Mackenzie McDonald/Martin Redlicki (UCLA), 6-3
2. Alex Ghilea/Spencer Papa (Oklahoma) def. Joseph Di Giulio/Karue Sell (UCLA), 7-6 (4)
3. Maxime Cressy/Austin Rapp (UCLA) def. Andre Biro/Austin Siegel (Oklahoma), 6-1
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2

Singles
1. #6 Mackie McDonald (UCLA) def. #97 Andrew Harris (Oklahoma), 3-6, 6-2, 7-5
2. #38 Martin Redlicki (UCLA) def. #25 Axel Alvarez (Oklahoma), 7-5, 7-6 (5)
3. #82 Spencer Papa (Oklahoma) def. #58 Gage Brymer (UCLA), 6-3, 7-5
4. #101 Karue Sell (UCLA) def. #61 Alex Ghilea (Oklahoma), 7-6 (3), 6-3
5. Florin Bragusi (Oklahoma) def. Logan Staggs (UCLA), 6-4, 7-5
6. Andre Biro (Oklahoma) def. Joseph Di Giulio (UCLA), 4-6, 7-5, 6-3
Order of Finish: 3, 4, 5, 2, 1, 6