Thursday, March 15
Los Angeles, CA
1:00 PM
UCLA
5
vs
2
Oklahoma
Freshman Connor Hance was a straight-set winner at No. 6 singles on Thursday (Photo: Scott Chandler)
Photo by: Scott Chandler
Men's Tennis Downs No. 13 Oklahoma, 5-2
March 15, 2018 | Men's Tennis
LOS ANGELES - The No. 3 UCLA men's tennis team posted its fifth-straight victory on Thursday afternoon, downing No. 13 Oklahoma, 5-2 in a non-conference showdown at the Los Angeles Tennis Center. With the win, the Bruins improve to 16-2 on the season, while the Sooners suffer just their second loss of the year, moving to 12-2.
Oklahoma came out energized to start Thursday's match, taking quick leads on two of the three courts in doubles play. The Sooners' top tandem of Alex Bakshi and Jake Van Emburghย struck first, downing UCLA's Martin Redlicki and Evan Zhu, 6-2 at court No. 1. Oklahoma also enjoyed a 5-2 lead at court No. 2, where Ferranย Calvo and Adrian Oetzbachย were looking to upset 24th-rankedย Austin Rapp and Keegan Smith. The Bruins would hold serve to cut the lead to 5-3, however Calvo servied out the match in the very next game to take the match 6-3 and give the Sooners a 1-0 lead heading into singles play.ย
Knowing they needed to step things up to avoid the upset, the Bruins came out firing in singles play. Things began to look even better when UCLA managed to take the first set on five of six courts. Redlicki, the nation's third-ranked player, was dominating in his match against the 91st-ranked Bakshiย at court No. 1, as he posted a 6-4, 6-3 win to even the match at 1-1.
Bruin freshman Connor Hance, who did not play doubles against the Sooners, looked fresh in his match against James Davis at court No. 6, as Hance would take a 6-2, 6-2 victory to give the Bruins a 2-1 lead. Another straight-set Bruin win, this time by Zhu at court No. 2, would soon follow and suddenly UCLA was within a point of clinching the victory.
UCLA senior Logan Staggs, who seems to have a knack for being in match-clinching situations, would get the deciding victory on Thursday yet again, as he upset the 40th-ranked Calvo, 6-4, 6-4 at court No. 4 to give the Bruins an insurmountable 4-1 advantage.
Two matches remained on court at the time of Staggs' victory, as Smith was facing Van Emburgh at court No. 3, and Bruin junior Max Cressy was taking on Max Stewart at court No. 5. Smith would win the battle of freshmen, downing Van Emburgh, 6-2, 7-6(3) to give UCLA a 5-1 lead. Oklahoma then posted its lone singles win of the afternoon when Stewart won 7-6(5), 6-2 to cap off the 5-2 UCLA victory.
The Bruins will now get an 11-day break for final exams and spring break before returning to action on March 27 to host UC Irvine at 1:00 p.m.ย ย ย
#3 UCLA 5, #13 Oklahoma 2
Mar 15, 2018 at Los Angeles CA (Los Angeles Tennis Center)
| Doubles |
| 1. Bakshi/Van Emburgh (OU) def. Redlicki/Zhu (UCLA) 6-2 |
| 2. Calvo/Oetzbach (OU) def. #24 Austin Rapp/Smith (UCLA) 6-3 |
| 3. Cressy/Bryce Pereira (UCLA) vs. Davis/Stewart (OU) 5-3, unfinished |
| Singles |
| 1. #3 Martin Redlicki (UCLA) def. #91 Alex Bakshi (OU) 6-4, 6-3 |
| 2. #117 Evan Zhu (UCLA) def. Adrian Oetzbach (OU) 6-3, 6-4 |
| 3. #58 Keegan Smith (UCLA) def. #85 Jake Van Emburgh (OU) 6-2, 7-6(3) |
| 4. #62 Logan Staggs (UCLA) def. #40 Ferran Calvo (OU) 6-4, 6-4 |
| 5. Max Stewart (OU) def. Maxime Cressy (UCLA) 7-6(5), 6-2 |
| 6. Connor Hance (UCLA) def. James Davis (OU) 6-2, 6-2 |
| Match Notes |
| Oklahoma 12-2; National ranking #13 |
| UCLA 16-2; National ranking #3 |
| Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (1,6,2,4,3,5) |
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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