UCLA
Oregon
Bruins Top Ducks for Berth in Final
April 27, 2018 | Men's Tennis
OJAI, Calif. โ The top-seeded UCLA men's tennis team notched its second 4-0 win of the Pac-12 Championships Friday, topping No. 4 Oregon for a spot in Saturday's final. The Bruins will face third-seeded USC, which blanked No. 2 Stanford in Friday's second semifinal.
The doubles point came down to a winner-take-all tiebreaker, as Austin Rapp and Keegan Smith notched a dramatic 7-6 (5) victory with all eyes at Libbey Park on court 2. The Bruins went on to tally three straight-set wins on the singles courts to take the overall decision.
"Unbelievable momentum builder for us going into the singles," said UCLA head coach Billy Martin. "You could see the singles were all pretty close. We were struggling at (court) 1, barely won that first set at number 2, the other ones were somewhat close. Really made the difference, at least somewhat, in this match."
The Bruins broke through first in doubles play, as No. 73 Martin Redlicki-Evan Zhu doubled up the Duck tandem of Thomas Laurent-Cormac Clissold on the top court. The win marked the reigning Pac-12 Doubles Team of the Year's fourth straight victory. Oregon would fight back, though, with Armando Soemarno-Charles Roberts evening the score with a 6-4 triumph over Bryce Pereira-Maxime Cressy on court 3.
With the Bruins trailing at 5-6, Rapp and Smith held serve to force the tiebreaker. The UCLA duo seemed to gain a second wind with the pressure firmly applied, racing out to a 6-2 lead. A Duck shot would go long and the Bruins embraced with the day's opening point.
Austin Rapp and Keegan Smith with the dramatic win, 7-6 (3), to clinch the doubles point!
โ UCLA Men's Tennis (@uclatennis) April 27, 2018
Bruins lead, 1-0.#GoBruins | #Pac12Tennis pic.twitter.com/Y9mkPzsT1a
Smith continued his impressive freshman year with his 13th consecutive win and 36th overall, dispatching Akihiro Tanaka on court 3, 6-3, 6-2. Nearly simultaneously, another freshman put the Bruins one step closer to the final. Connor Hance picked up the first postseason win of his career, 6-1, 6-4 over Oregon's Riki Oshima on court 6.
One day after the top three courts registered the singles wins, Cressy posted the clincher on court 5. The junior took care of Clissold in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2, with courts 1, 2 and 4 left unfinished.
"It's been that way all year," said Martin. "Somebody just seems to be coming through and doing it. Nobody is rock-solid always.
"Other guys are stepping up and I think a lot of it has to do with looking at the scoreboard, knowing 'Jeez, I can't count on anybody, I've got to do it myself' and taking responsibility."
The Bruins will look for their third win over the Trojans Saturday, having already topped their crosstown rivals in both nonconference play and Pac-12 action. It will represent a rematch of the 2017 Pac-12 Championships final, which the Trojans won by a 4-3 score. First serve from Libbey Park is set for 3 p.m., with Pac-12 Networks providing live television coverage.
Tennis Match Results
Oregon vs UCLA
April 27, 2018 at Ojai, Calif.
(Libbey Park)
#1 UCLA 4, #4 Oregon 0
Singles competition
1. #1 Martin Redlicki (UCLA) vs. #22 Thomas Laurent (ORE) 4-6, 3-2, unfinished
2. #80 Evan Zhu (UCLA) vs. Simon Stevens (ORE) 7-6(5), unfinished
3. #52 Keegan Smith (UCLA) def. Akihiro Tanaka (ORE) 6-3, 6-2
4. #86 Logan Staggs (UCLA) vs. Ty Gentry (ORE) 6-4, 3-3, unfinished
5. Maxime Cressy (UCLA) def. Cormac Clissold (ORE) 6-3, 6-2
6. Connor Hance (UCLA) def. Riki Oshima (ORE) 6-1, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. #73 Redlicki/Zhu (UCLA) def. Laurent/Clissold (ORE) 6-3
2. #14 A. Rapp/Smith (UCLA) def. Stevens/Gentry (ORE) 7-6(3)
3. Soemarno/Roberts (ORE) def. Pereira/Cressy (UCLA) 6-4
Match Notes:
UCLA 25-2; National ranking #2
Oregon 17-9; National ranking #35
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (3,6,5)
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
1,3,2
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
3,6,5
Players Mentioned
