UCLA
Arizona State
UCLA Defeats ASU to Secure Top Spot in Ojai
April 19, 2019 | Men's Tennis
LOS ANGELES – The No. 14 UCLA men's tennis team clinched at least a share of the Pac-12 regular-season championship Friday, as it defeated No. 27 Arizona State 4-2 at Los Angeles Tennis Center.
UCLA will play for the outright title Saturday, when it welcomes No. 24 Arizona to LATC for a 1 p.m. start. Second-place USC, currently one game behind the Bruins, will host Arizona State later in the afternoon. UCLA holds the tiebreaker over USC following a 4-3 win earlier this month.
Freshman Patrick Zahraj posted his third clinching win of the season and second of the Pac-12 campaign, dispatching of Tim Ruehl in straight sets on Court 4. The top-court trio of Maxime Cressy, Keegan Smith and Govind Nanda also notched wins for the Bruins (15-4, 7-0), who rebounded from a lost doubles point on the way to their 11th straight victory. Andrea Bolla secured the lone singles win for the Sun Devils (13-11, 4-3).
Arizona State's tandem of Makey Rakotomalala and Justin Roberts raced out to a 5-0 lead on Court 3 to set the tone in doubles play. Bruins Zahraj and Bryce Pereira did not cave, taking the next three games to put a momentary scare into their Sun Devil counterparts. Rakotomalala-Roberts went on to hold serve for a 6-3 win, though, giving ASU the day's first victory.
The Bruins pulled even on the top court, where fifth-ranked Cressy and Smith continued their winning ways. Facing off against 11th-ranked Dominik Kellovsky-Nathan Ponwith, the Bruins prevailed by a 6-4 score to pull even. The UCLA pair, which never trailed, improved to 12-0 on the year.
In a tightly-contested match on Court 2, neither side could gain an edge until a big break on match point. Leading 5-4, Sun Devils Bolla and Ruehl encountered a deuce point against the serving Nanda and Connor Rapp. ASU's return was countered by a shot into the net, giving the Sun Devils a 1-0 lead.
UCLA secured four first sets to get back on pace for the overall win.
No. 37 Smith pulled UCLA even on Court 2, rolling to his eighth straight win. The Bruin trailed 3-4 against Kellovsky, but went on to take nine of the next 10 games. Each of Smith's wins during his winning streak have finished in straight sets.
In the only ranked matchup of singles play, No. 20 Cressy took care of his 75th-ranked foe in straight sets on the top court. After a dominant first-set performance, the lone Bruin senior found himself locked in a 3-3 tie with Ponwith before flipping the switch. Cressy took the final three games for a 6-2, 6-3, victory, his fourth against a ranked opponent.
Rounding out the top courts, 45th-ranked Nanda completed the sweep with a 6-4, 6-4 defeat of Roberts on Court 3. The Bruin freshman jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first set before surrendering the next three games. Nanda maintained enough of a cushion the rest of the way to complete his team-high 14th dual-match win and extend UCLA's lead to 3-1.
Arizona State cut its deficit in half with a straight-set win by Bolla on Court 5. The Sun Devil fell behind in each set against Ben Goldberg before powering back to a 6-4, 6-4 victory.
Two weeks to the day from his thrilling win against USC, history repeated itself for Zahraj. With Courts 4 and 6 in third sets, Ruehl held serve to pull even with his fellow countryman. Zahraj went on to take the final three games, sealed by a drop shot the Sun Devil could not reach.
Tennis Match Results
Arizona State vs UCLA
4/19/2019 at Los Angeles, CA
(Los Angeles Tennis Center)
#14 UCLA 4, #27 Arizona State 2
Singles competition
1. #20 Maxime Cressy (UCLA) def. #75 Nathan Ponwith (ASU) 6-2, 6-3
2. #37 Keegan Smith (UCLA) def. Dominik Kellovsky (ASU) 6-4, 6-1
3. #45 Govind Nanda (UCLA) def. Justin Roberts (ASU) 6-4, 6-4
4. Patrick Zahraj (UCLA) def. Tim Ruehl (ASU) 6-3, 2-6, 6-3
5. Andrea Bolla (ASU) def. Ben Goldberg (UCLA) 6-4, 6-4
6. Mathew Tsolakyan (UCLA) vs. Makey Rakotomalala (ASU) 4-6, 7-6 (7-3), 2-3, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. #5 Maxime Cressy/Keegan Smith (UCLA) def. #11 Dominik Kellovsky/Nathan Ponwith (ASU) 6-4
2. Andrea Bolla/Tim Ruehl (ASU) def. Govind Nanda/Connor Rapp (UCLA) 6-4
3. Makey Rakotomalala/Justin Roberts (ASU) def. Bryce Pereira/Patrick Zahraj (UCLA) 6-3
Match Notes:
Arizona State 13-11; National ranking #27
UCLA 15-4; National ranking #14
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (2,1,3,5)
T-2:46
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,1,2
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
2,1,3,5
Players Mentioned
