UCLA
Stanford
UCLA Drops Nail-biter at Stanford, 4-3
February 04, 2018 | Men's Tennis
STANFORD, Calif. โ In its first road match of the dual-match season, the No. 6 UCLA men's tennis team dropped a close one to No. 10 Stanford, 4-3. The non-conference contest at Taube Family Tennis Center featured parallel performances by the long-time rivals, as two doubles matches went to a tiebreaks, while three singles sets needed 13th games.
Timothy Sah and David Wilczynski broke through first for the Carinal in doubles action, topping UCLA's duo of Bryce Pereira and Maxime Cressy, 6-4, on Court 3. Courts 1 and 2 each needed a tiebreak, with Tom Fawcett and Axel Galler of Stanford earning the clincher with a 7-6 (6) decision over Bruins Austin Rapp and Keegan Smith on Court 2. While decision on Court 1 was not necessary, Stanford's team of Michael Genender and Sameer Kumar was knotted up with UCLA's Martin Redlicki and Evan Zhu on Court 1, 6-6 (4-4), at the time of the Cardinal's clinching win.
The Cardinal success carried over into singles play, where Axel Geller recorded a 6-1 first-set win over Zhu on Court 2. The Bruin sophomore rebounded, challenging Geller in the second before falling, 6-1, 7-6 (5). In a near-mirror image match, No. 1 Redlicki breezed through his first set against No. 101 Fawcett on Court 1, but endured a second-set challenge from the Cardinal's top player, 6-0, 7-6 (6), before cutting UCLA's deficit in half.
Stanford's William Genesenย posted a straight-set win over Austin Rapp, 6-3, 6-3, to put the Bruins on the brink of elimination. Despite a stiff challenge from No. 108 Smith of UCLA, Kumar did the honor of clinching the overall win with a 7-5, 6-4 victory on Court 3.
Despite the loss, the Bruins would continue to challenge the Cardinal, with No. 55 Logan Staggs notching a 6-4, 7-6 (6) win over Wilczynski on Court 4 to make the score 4-2. Cressy would add another Bruin win in the final match of the afternoon, as the 6-7 junior dispatched Stanford's Eric Fomba after a 10-point third-set tiebreaker, 4-6, 7-5, 1-0 (6), on Court 5.
Next up for UCLA is a return home to Los Angeles Tennis Center, where it will host visiting UNLV Saturday, Feb. 10 at 1:00 p.m. That will mark the Bruins' final match before they head north to face Seattle University and take part in the ITA National Team Indoor Championships.
Tennis Match Results
UCLA vs Stanford
Feb 4, 2018 at Stanford, CA
(Taube Family Tennis Center)
#10 Stanford, 4, #6 UCLA 3
Singles competition
1. No. 1 Martin Redlicki (UCLA) def. No. 101 Tom Fawcett (STAN) 6-0, 7-6(6)
2. Axel Geller (STAN) def. Evan Zhu (UCLA) 6-1, 7-6(5)
3. Sameer Kumar (STAN) def. No. 108 Keegan Smith (UCLA) 7-5, 6-4
4. No. 55 Logan Staggs (UCLA) def. David Wilczynski (STAN) 6-4, 7-6(6)
5. Maxime Cressy (UCLA) def. Eric Fomba (STAN) 4-6, 7-5, 10-6
6. William Genesenย (STAN) def. Austin Rapp (UCLA) 6-3, 6-3
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Doubles competition
1. Michael Genender/Sameer Kumar (STAN) vs. Martin Redlicki/Evan Zhu (UCLA) 6-6 (4-4) unfinished
2. Tom Fawcett/Axel Geller (STAN) def. Austin Rapp/Keegan Smith (UCLA) 7-6(6)
3. Timothy Sah/David Wilczynski (STAN) def. Bryce Pereira/Maxime Cressy (UCLA) 6-4
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Match Notes:
UCLA 6-1; National ranking #6
Stanford 5-0; National ranking #10
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (2,1,6,3,4,5)
Players Mentioned
