UCLA
North Carolina
No. 9 UCLA Falls to No. 7 UNC in Semis
February 14, 2016 | Men's Tennis
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The ninth-ranked UCLA men's tennis team's run for the ITA national title came to an end on Sunday afternoon when the Bruins fell to seventh-ranked North Carolina, 4-2, in the semifinals of the 2016 ITA Division I National Men's Team Indoor Championship.
“I am tremendously happy with doubles,” said UCLA head coach Billy Martin. “The guys were playing good doubles on all three courts. They came to play and competed well. I thought after winning doubles, we'd have a fairly good chance at winning the match.”
The Bruins jumped out to an early lead, taking the doubles point over the Tar Heels. Freshman Maxime Cressy and senior Karue Sell struck first for UCLA, downing Blaine Boyden and Ronnie Schneider 6-3 on court 3. North Carolina answered back with a win on court 2 as junior Gage Brymer and sophomore Austin Rapp fell to their Tar Heel opponents 6-4. The doubles point came down to court 1, where the 12th-ranked duo of Mackenzie McDonald and Martin Redlicki battled the third-ranked pair of Brett Clark and Robert Kelly. The Bruin pair pulled off the upset, clinching the doubles point with a 6-3 win.
.@uclatennis takes the doubles point over @carolinatennis in their semifinal contest. #ITAIndoors pic.twitter.com/7aIp3FV4Zj
— ITA Tennis (@ITATennis) February 14, 2016
In singles play, UCLA and UNC traded matches on courts 1 and 2. On court 2, 23rd-ranked Schneider evened the score with a straight-set win over 80th-ranked Brymer. No. 34 McDonald quickly responded with another point for the Bruins, downing Braydon Schnur in straights. UCLA owned a 2-1 advantage over UNC.
Unfortunately for the Bruins, the Tar Heels answered back with three straight wins on courts 3, 6, and 5. In a tight two-setter, No. 37 Redlicki fell to Clark, 7-5, 6-4, on court 3. Both matches on courts 5 and 6 went to three sets. Logan Staggs and Rapp took their respective first sets, but lost the second. In the third set, both Bruins fell 6-3 to their Tar Heel opponents. With the score at 4-2, UNC's lead was insurmountable.
“I think our team has the potential to do really well,” said McDonald. “All in all, we can definitely hang with the top teams. We learned a lot this weekend. Losing today is going to make us hungrier and it will make us work harder.”
“All in all, I thought we fought really hard,” added Martin. “We had our chances—nothing to be too upset about. I'm pretty happy with us coming here and getting two really good wins against Georgia and A&M, and being in the battle with UNC. It shows us that we're competitive. This tournament showed us that we can play with just about anybody and expect to win.”
Next up, the Bruins return home to host a doubleheader with the women's team on Saturday, Feb. 20. The men go head to head with UC Irvine at 10 a.m. PT, followed by the women's match against California at 1 p.m. PT.
#7 North Carolina 4, #9 UCLA 2Feb 14, 2016 at ITA National Team Indoors (Boar's Head Sports club, Charlottesville)
| Doubles competition |
| 1. #12 McDonald/Redlicki (UCLA) def. #3 Clark/Kelly (NC) 6-3 |
| 2. Murray/Schnur (NC) def. Brymer/ Rapp (UCLA) 6-4 |
| 3. Cressy/Sell (UCLA) def. Boyden/Schneider (NC) 6-3 |
| Singles competition |
| 1. #34 Mackenzie McDonald (UCLA) def. Brayden Schnur (NC) 6-3, 7-6 |
| 2. #23 Ronnie Schneider (NC) def. #80 Gage Brymer (UCLA) 6-0, 6-4 |
| 3. Brett Clark (NC) def. #37 Martin Redlicki (UCLA) 7-5, 6-4 |
| 4. #89 Jack Murray (NC) vs. Karue Sell (UCLA) 7-6, 4-6, unfinished |
| 5. #62 Robert Kelly (NC) def. Logan Staggs (UCLA) 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 |
| 6. Anudeep Kodali (NC) def. Austin Rapp (UCLA) 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 |
| Match Notes |
| UCLA 7-2; National ranking #9 |
| North Carolina 8-0; National ranking #7 |
| Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (2,1,3,6,5) |
| ITA National Team Indoor Semifinal |
