University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Big Day Has Redlicki in ITA All-American Semis
October 08, 2017 | Men's Tennis
TULSA, Okla. โ Senior Martin Redlicki, seeded 9-16 coming into the 2017 Saint Francis Health System ITA All-American Championships, joined the semifinal round of the tournament after knocking off two top-five seeds Saturday. Yet to drop a set in his three days at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center, the Boca Raton, Fla. native will face off with a familiar foeย from the Pac-12, Thomas Laurent of Oregon, in Sunday's action at 8:00 a.m., PT.
To get to Sunday's semifinal, Redlicki had to start in the first round, where he outlasted Adam Moundir of Old Dominion, 6-3, 7-5. Nicolas Alvarez was next on the docket for the No. 72-ranked Bruin, who jumped out to a 6-1 first-set win. Alvarez would not go away, though, as Redlicki had to endure the Blue Devil to the tune of a 7-5 second-set advantage that ultimately placed the Bruin lefty in the Round of 16.
There, Redlicki ran into fellow All-American and fifth-seeded Alfredo Perez of Florida, who became the latest victim of the red-hot Bruin, as Redlicki tallied a 6-3, 6-4 win to guarantee another match would occur later that day. When it did not seem it could get any tougher, it did, as third-seeded Petros Chrysochos of Wake Forest stepped up with a chance to be one of the final four players in the field. Redlicki would not miss a beat, however, taking down the Demon Deacon by a 6-4, 7-5 tally to reach Sunday's semifinal.
Also joining Redlicki in Tulsa was Logan Staggs, who ran through the qualifying bracket with three wins, including a 6-2, 6-2 decision over Niclas Braun of Mississippi State. His run would come to a close in the first round of the main draw, though, as the Tracy, Calif. native fell to Jordi Arconada of Texas A&M, 6-4, 6-4.
UCSB Classic
The UCSB Classic marked the UCLA debuts for three Bruins, who stepped onto both the singles and doubles courts for the first time in blue and gold. True freshmen Bryce Pereira and Keegan Smith, as well as redshirt freshman Connor Rapp, made up the Bruin contingent in the field.
Smith came out of the gate slow in the A Flight singles tournament, dropping his opening set to Josh Ortlip of Cal Poly, 6-4. The motivated freshmen quickly recovered to take the final two sets and the match, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3. The next round would also pose a problemย for Smith, who was nearly forced to go the distance again before holding on against Paul Barretto of California, 6-2, 6-0. That would prove to be the end of the road for Smith, who fell to Nicolas Moreno of host UC Santa Barbara in the semifinal round, 6-4, 5-7, 6-2. Next up for him is a third-place match against Bjorn Hoffman of Cal.
The B Flight tournament saw Connor Rapp pick up his first win, 6-2, 6-1 over Karl Enander of Cal Poly. While Pereira dropped his first singles decision, the Arcadia, Calif. native joined Smith to knock off the team of Dominic Barretto and Paul Barretto of Cal, 8-5, to give each player his first doubles win.
Aztec Fall Invitational
Ben Goldberg and Austin Rapp continue to impress at San Diego State, where the pair will play for the Flight 1 doubles title Sunday at 9:00 a.m. The duo will look to play spoiler against a couple of Aztecs, Sander Gjoels-Andersen and Nicholas Mitchell.
In singles, Rapp finds himself in the semifinal round of the Flight 1 tournament after recording three straight-set victories. His next chance will be against Alex Arauzos of San Diego. They are scheduled for a 10:00 a.m. start Sunday. Goldberg picked up two wins in the same tournament, dispatching Sebastian Mermersky of Liberty in a close one, 3-6, 7-6 (6), 6-2, before cruising past Justin Cvitanovic of Grand Canyon, 6-2, 6-4. August Holmgren of San Diego put an end to the sophomore's run in the next round, 7-6 (5), 6-4.
Players Mentioned
