UCLA
San Diego
No. 7 UCLA Tops San Diego for Indoors Berth
January 26, 2019 | Men's Tennis
LOS ANGELES โ The No. 7 UCLA men's tennis team rebounded from a lost doubles point to defeat San Diego 4-1 Saturday in ITA Kick-Off Weekend action at Los Angeles Tennis Center. The win secured the Bruins a berth at February's ITA National Team Championships in Chicago.
One day after posting the clinching point in a 4-1 victory over Indiana, Keegan Smith did so again against the Toreros. Smith delivered a win each time he was on the court without relinquishing a set over the weekend, as did his doubles partner, Maxime Cressy. Freshman Govind Nanda picked up his second straight-set singles win in as many days.
Cressy and Smith got things started on the top doubles court, doubling up Nico Borter and Gui Osorio of USD to give UCLA the early edge. The Bruin pair was first off the court Friday, as well. Pitted against the nation's No. 12 pair in Toreros Joel Gamerov and August Holmgren, Nanda and Ben Goldberg stayed within striking distance but came up on the short end of a 6-4 decision.
For the second day in the row, all eyes turned to Court 3, where Patrick Zahraj worked with new partner Connor Rapp. The Bruins led Guus Koevermans and David Norfeldt throughout the match, taking a 5-4 lead down the home stretch. The Torero tandem rallied, though, winning two of the next three games to force a deciding tiebreaker. Knotted at six apiece, Koevermans-Norfeldt picked up the final two points of the back-and-forth affair to give USD the 1-0 lead.
Trailing for the first time on the year, the Bruins charged into singles play with first-set wins across all six courts.
One day after debuting on Court 6, UCLA freshman Mathew Tsolakyan posted a convincing first-career, dual-match win on Court 5. The lefty knocked off Koevermans, 6-3, 6-3, pulling the Bruins even with teammates primed to continue a run.
Up next was Cressy, who gave No. 117 Osorio little reason for hope on the top court. The lone Bruin senior delivered a 6-2, 6-4 victory to give UCLA its first lead of the day at 2-1. Tasked with taking down the veteran Borter on Court 3, Nanda did just that. The Redlands, Calif. native repeatedly got to hard-to-reach balls, making the Torero work before notching the Bruins' third point with a 6-4, 6-3 win.
Playing against his hometown team, Smith would do the honor of sending the Bruins to Chicago. The 6-7 hard hitter posted identical 6-4 sets against No. 83 Holmgren. After a hard return by Smith, Holmgren's shot sailed wide to seal the deal.
UCLA will remain home next week, with Saint Mary's and BYU scheduled to visit LATC for a doubleheader on Saturday, Feb. 2. Matches will be played at 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., respectively.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
1,2,3
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
5,1,2,3
Players Mentioned
