UCLA
Loyola Marymount
No. 19 UCLA Rolls to 7-0 Defeat of LMU
March 26, 2019 | Men's Tennis
LOS ANGELES – The No. 19 UCLA men's tennis team dropped just one singles set in a 7-0 non-conference defeat of Loyola Marymount Tuesday afternoon at Los Angeles Tennis Center.
It was a big day for the Bruin trio of Maxime Cressy, Keegan Smith and Patrick Zahraj, as each player tallied two wins across his singles and doubles contests. Cressy clinched the match against a ranked opponent on the top court. UCLA improved to 8-4 with the win, while LMU dropped to 3-10.
In a top-40 matchup on the top court, No. 36 Cressy-Smith did its part to set the tone in doubles play. Playing against 40th-ranked Nick Borchenko and Diego Nava, the Bruins posted an early break of serve and rode it to five of the first six games. Cressy-Smith went on to win 6-2, improving to 6-0 on the season and 3-0 against nationally-ranked opponents.
The Lions pulled even on Court 2, where Lukas Moenter and Thien Nguyen dealt Govind Nanda and Connor Rapp a 6-1 loss. UCLA's Court 3 duo of Zahraj and Bryce Pereira was already well on its way to victory on Court 3, however, where it rolled to a 6-1 triumph of its own. The win increased Pereira-Zahraj's team-high win total to eight.
UCLA took five of six first sets in singles action to build off the momentum gained with its doubles win. No. 80 Smith of the Bruins doubled up Borchenko on Court 2 and did not look back, coasting to a 6-3, 6-2 win and a 2-0 overall lead. The victory improved the San Diego native's record to 13-5, 5-2 in dual matches.
Zahraj was next off the singles courts, as the freshman won in near-perfect fashion. Fellow German Max Kaiser did not capture a game until midway through the second set, ultimately falling by a 6-0, 6-1 score. The win marked Zahraj's second in a row and fifth of the calendar year.
The clinching point was provided on the top court, where No. 92 Cressy defeated No. 86 Moenter 7-5, 6-2 in the only ranked matchup on the singles slate. Cressy used a break to take a 3-1 lead, but Moenter charged back with the next four games. The Bruin countered with the subsequent four a first-set victory. The second set was all Cressy, who won 6-2 for his second defeat of a ranked opponent.
Nanda was pushed by Nava on Court 3, but continued the UCLA dominance with a 6-4, 6-4 result. The win marked Nanda's fourth in a row and 13th overall to match Smith.
Ben Goldberg kept Prost at bay throughout the Court 5 match, ultimately defeating his Lion opponent by a 6-4, 6-3 margin. The win improved Goldberg's dual-match and overall records above .500.
No. 100 Mathew Tsolakyan dropped the first set against Austin Di Giulio, but countered to take the second in a tiebreaker. The day's final match was decided by a 10-point tiebreaker in the third set, which Tsolakyan claimed by a 10-2 score. The 3-6, 7-6(4), 1-0(2) win marked the third in a row for the freshman.
Next up for UCLA is a trip to Northern California to take on No. 10 Stanford and No. 40 California in a pair of Pac-12 matches. The Bruins and Cardinal meet Friday at Taube Family Tennis Center, with first serve set for 3 p.m. They will then take on the Golden Bears Saturday at 2 p.m. from the Hellman Tennis Complex.
Tennis Match Results
Loyola Marymount vs UCLA
3/26/2019 at Los Angeles, CA
(Los Angeles Tennis Center)
#19 UCLA 7, Loyola Marymount 0
Singles competition
1. #92 Maxime Cressy (UCLA) def. #86 Lukas Moenter (LMU) 7-5, 6-2
2. #80 Keegan Smith (UCLA) def. Nick Borchenko (LMU) 6-3, 6-2
3. #35 Govind Nanda (UCLA) def. Diego Nava (LMU) 6-4, 6-4
4. Patrick Zahraj (UCLA) def. Max Kaiser (LMU) 6-0, 6-1
5. Ben Goldberg (UCLA) def. Ethan Prost (LMU) 6-4, 6-3
6. #100 Mathew Tsolakyan (UCLA) def. Austin Di Giulio (LMU) 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), 1-0 (10-2)
Doubles competition
1. #36 Maxime Cressy/Keegan Smith (UCLA) def. #40 Nick Borchenko/Diego Nava (LMU) 6-2
2. Lukas Moenter/Thien Nguyen (LMU) def. Govind Nanda/Connor Rapp (UCLA) 6-1
3. Bryce Pereira/Patrick Zahraj (UCLA) def. Ryan Brown/Ethan Prost (LMU) 6-1
Match Notes
Loyola Marymount 3-10
UCLA 8-4; National ranking #19
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (2,4,1,3,5,6)
T-2:17
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:
2,4,1,3,5,6
Players Mentioned
