UCLA
USC
No. 6 Bruins Down No. 12 Trojans, 5-2
March 02, 2016 | Men's Tennis
LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Despite a late surge, the No. 6 UCLA men's tennis team held No. 12 USC at bay to capture a 5-2 win in Tuesday's crosstown tennis clash. With the win, the Bruins improve to 10-2 on the season.
In doubles play, Karue Sell and Joseph Di Giulio registered the first win, inching the Bruins closer to the doubles point. The duo dispatched Jack Jaede and Max de Vroome, 6-2, on court 2. On court 1, the third-ranked pair of Mackenzie McDonald and Martin Redlicki rallied from trailing Nick Crystal and Laurens Verboven by three games to even the score at 4-4. McDonald and Redlicki were unable to keep pace in the next two games, however, as their Trojan foes took the match, 6-4. The doubles point came down to court 3.
Maxime Cressy and Gage Brymer jumped out to an early 4-1 lead over Rob Bellamy and Jake DeVine. Not giving up just yet, the USC pair slowly chipped away at the lead until Cressy and Brymer only held a 5-4 advantage. With the score at 40-30, Cressy stepped to the line to serve for the match. Unfazed by the rowdy crowd, the freshman clinched the doubles point for the Bruins on a service winner. UCLA led USC 1-0.
Brymer/Cressy defeat Bellamy/DeVine 6-4. Bruins take the doubles point! pic.twitter.com/G71h5ZoQu3
— UCLA Men's Tennis (@uclatennis) March 1, 2016
Carrying this momentum into singles play, the Bruins took four first sets over the Trojans. Di Giulio then put another point on the board for UCLA with a straight-set win on court 6 over Jaede. No. 19 McDonald followed suit, downing No. 65 de Vroome, 6-2, 6-4, on court 1.
The Trojans retaliated with two straight wins as Thibault Forget defeated Logan Staggs in straights on court 5 shortly before No. 67 Crystal edged No. 36 Redlicki on court 2. USC now trailed 3-2, with both remaining matches going to a third set.
After dropping the second set, No. 94 Sell got his groove back in the third, jumping out to an early lead and never looking back. The Bruin senior coasted past No. 92 DeVine, 6-1, to clinch the match for UCLA.
Sell does it again! Karue breaks DeVine, and clinches the UCLA win with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 victory! #GoBruins #BeatSC pic.twitter.com/ju4eUDfM6H
— UCLA Men's Tennis (@uclatennis) March 2, 2016
Playing out their match, No. 46 Brymer and No. 56 Smith battled back and forth on court 3. Tied at 6-6, the match went to a tiebreaker. Trailing 2-4 in the tiebreak, Brymer then rallied to edge Smith 8-6 and take the match. The Bruins won with a final score of 5-2.
Next up, UCLA hosts No. 44 BYU on Thursday, Mar. 10. The match takes place at 2:30 p.m. at the Los Angeles Tennis Center.
#6 UCLA 5, #12 USC 2
Mar 1, 2016 at Los Angeles, CA (Los Angeles Tennis Center)
| Doubles competition |
| 1. Crystal/Verboven (USC-M) def. #3 McDonald/Redlicki (UCLA) 6-4 |
| 2. Sell/Di Giulio (UCLA) def. de Vroome/Jaede (USC-M) 6-2 |
| 3. Cressy/Brymer (UCLA) def. Bellamy/DeVine (USC-M) 6-4 |
| Singles competition |
| 1. #19 Mackenzie McDonald (UCLA) def. #65 Max de Vroome (USC-M) 6-2, 6-4 |
| 2. #67 Nick Crystal (USC-M) def. #36 Martin Redlicki (UCLA) 7-6 (7-5), 6-2 |
| 3. #46 Gage Brymer (UCLA) def. #56 Logan Smith (USC-M) 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (8-6) |
| 4. #94 Karue Sell (UCLA) def. #92 Jake DeVine (USC-M) 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 |
| 5. Thibault Forget (USC-M) def. Logan Staggs (UCLA) 6-1, 7-5 |
| 6. Joseph Di Giulio (UCLA) def. Jack Jaede (USC-M) 6-1, 6-1 |
| Match Notes |
| USC 7-3; National ranking #12 |
| UCLA 10-2; National ranking #6 |
| Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (6,1,5,2,4,3) |
