University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
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UCLA Completes Road Sweep, Dispatches of Cal
March 30, 2019 | Men's Tennis
BERKELEY, Calif. โ The No. 19 UCLA men's tennis team won its sixth match in a row, defeating No. 40 California 4-2 Saturday afternoon at Hellman Tennis Complex. One day after doubling up No. 10 Stanford, the Bruins completed their first sweep of the Pac-12's NorCal schools since 2013.
For the second time in as many days, Maxime Cressy played the part of hero with the clinching win. Govind Nanda and Keegan Smith also picked up singles wins for the Bruins (10-4, 3-0), who claimed the doubles point without a loss. The Golden Bears (9-9, 2-2) got wins from Ben Draper and Bjorn Hoffmann.
The Bruins are coming home with a sweep!
โ UCLA Men's Tennis (@uclatennis) March 31, 2019
The deciding point and subsequent celebration...#GoBruins pic.twitter.com/QTZYOVNpcu
No. 36 Cressy-Smith earned an early break of serve in doubles play and rode it to a 6-4 defeat of 79th-ranked Paul Barretto and Can Kaya on the top court. Of the Bruin pair's eight wins this season, five have come against ranked opponents.
With the team of Nanda and Connor Rapp poised to clinch the day's first point, Court 3 Bruins Bryce Pereira and Patrick Zahraj snuck in. With Pereira-Zahraj's victory against Draper and Yuta Kikuchi, the pair increased its team-high total to nine while moving above .500 in dual matches. The pair has now clinched five of UCLA' nine claimed doubles points.
Nanda continued his impressive freshman season, defeating Paul Barretto by a 6-3, 6-2 score. The Redlands, Calif. native is now 11-2 in dual matches and 14-3 overall. He has been first off the singles courts in four of UCLA's last six matches.
Draper collected a first-set tiebreaker from Ben Goldberg on Court 5 before doubling up the Bruin in the second frame. With the Golden Bear deficit cut in half, the home team attempted to make its move. Jack Molloy took 80th-ranked Smith to a tiebreaker in Court 2's second set, but Smith took control there. His 7-1 performance in the tiebreaker secured his fourth straight victory and team-high 15th of the season.
Trailing 3-1, Cal's Bjorn Hoffman completed a comeback against Zahraj on Court 4. The 2-6, 6-1, 7-5 result made it 3-2 with Courts 1 and 6 each destined for three sets.
No. 92 Cressy dropped the first set against Kikuchi and trailed 0-5ย in the second. The lone Bruin senior took charge, though, forcing a tiebreaker and never looking back. Cressy controlled the tiebreaker with a 7-2 showing, before surrendering just one game the rest of the way. The Hermosa Beach, Calif. native went a combined 6-0 on the week across singles and doubles action, beating five ranked opponents over the five days.
UCLA will welcome No. 12 USC to Los Angeles Tennis Center on Friday, April 5 for a Pac-12 match. First serve of the rivalry match will come at 3:30 p.m.
Tennis Match Results
UCLA vs California
3/30/2019 at Berkeley, CA
(Hellman Tennis Complex)
#19 UCLA 4, #40 California 2
Singles competition
1. #92 Maxime Cressy (UCLA) def. Yuta Kikuchi (CAL) 3-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-1
2. #80 Keegan Smith (UCLA) def. Jack Molloy (CAL) 6-4, 7-6 (7-1)
3. #35 Govind Nanda (UCLA) def. Paul Barretto (CAL) 6-3, 6-2
4. Bjorn Hoffmann (CAL) def. Patrick Zahraj (UCLA) 2-6, 6-1, 7-5
5. Ben Draper (CAL) def. Ben Goldberg (UCLA) 7-6 (7-5), 6-3
6. Mert Zincirli (CAL) vs. #100 Mathew Tsolakyan (UCLA) 5-7, 6-4, 0-3, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. #36 Maxime Cressy/Keegan Smith (UCLA) def. #79 Paul Barretto/Can Kaya (CAL) 6-4
2. Jack Molloy/Mert Zincirli (CAL) vs. Govind Nanda/Connor Rapp (UCLA) 4-5, unfinished
3. Bryce Pereira/Patrick Zahraj (UCLA) def. Ben Draper/Yuta Kikuchi (CAL) 6-4
Match Notes:
UCLA 10-4; National ranking #19
California 9-9; National ranking #40
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (3,5,2,4,1)
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
1,3
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
3,5,2,4,1
Players Mentioned
