UCLA
Utah
History Made in UCLA's Pac-12 Quarterfinal Win
April 25, 2019 | Men's Tennis
OJAI, Calif. โย Billy Martin made history in Thursday's Pac-12 Championships quarterfinal round, as the top-seeded UCLA men's tennis team defeated No. 8 Utah 4-0 at Libbey Park and made its head coach the program's all-time leader in victories.
Ben Goldberg clinched the overall win for the Bruins, who advance to face fourth-seeded California in Friday's first semifinal match at 1 p.m. on Pac-12 Network. Keegan Smith and Govind Nanda turned in dominant performances in singles play to make it a perfect day for the regular-season champions. UCLA also claimed the doubles point without a loss. The Bruins improved to 17-4 with the win, while the Utes dropped to 17-11.
Goldberg does it! UCLA is on to the #Pac12Tennis semifinals.
โ UCLA Men's Tennis (@uclatennis) April 25, 2019
??: @Pac12Network (Bay Area)#GoBruins pic.twitter.com/Y7IfVB3OpP
Martin passed mentor and predecessor Glenn Bassett with his 593rd-career win at the helm.
UCLA's top-court tandem of Smith and Maxime Cressy, ranked No. 4 in the nation, surrendered just one game on the top court against David Micevski and Slava Shainyan to get the Bruins off on the right foot. Cressy-Smith earned a break for the deciding game, marking the pair's 14th win against zero losses.
Nanda and Connor Rapp took the first five games from Azat Hankuliyev and Dan Little on Court 2 to put themselves on the doorstep of victory. The Utes charged back with each of the next three games, posting one break of serve. Leading 40-30, Nanda delivered an ace to claim the doubles point. Nanda-Rapp's victory represented the pair's fourth in five decisions.
The Bruins claimed each of the first sets in singles play and a pair via tiebreaker. Included among those was freshman Roscoe Bellamy, who made his dual-match debut.
Smith and Nanda were dominant in their matches, surrendering just three total games between them. On Court 2, No. 42 Smith turned in a 6-1, 6-1 defeat of No/ 79 Micevski for his 10th straight win and team-high 21st of the campaign.
No. 52 Nanda took the first 10 games of his match against Shainyan on Court 3 and never looked back en route to a 6-0, 6-1 victory. The win improved the freshman's record to 19-4, including a team-best 16 dual-match triumphs. The matches on Courts 2 and 3 ended almost simultaneously to give the Bruins a 3-0 lead.
Goldberg trailed 3-4 on Court 4 before registering a dominant run the rest of the way against Benkaim. The Pacific Palisades, Calif. native took the final nine games for his second clinching win against the Utes this season.
Tennis Match Results
Utah vs UCLA
4/25/2019 at Ojai, CA
(Libbey Park)
#13 UCLA 4, #46 Utah 0
Singles competition
1. #17 Maxime Cressy (UCLA) vs. #47 Dan Little (UTAH) 7-6 (7-2), 0-1, unfinished
2. #42 Keegan Smith (UCLA) def. #79 David Micevski (UTAH) 6-1, 6-1
3. #52 Govind Nanda (UCLA) def. Slava Shainyan (UTAH) 6-0, 6-1
4. Ben Goldberg (UCLA) def. Russell Benkaim (UTAH) 6-4, 6-0
5. Eric Hahn (UCLA) vs. Mathias Gavelin (UTAH) 7-5, 1-1, unfinished
6. Roscoe Bellamy (UCLA) vs. Joe Woolley (UTAH) 7-6 (7-5), 3-2, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. #4 Maxime Cressy/Keegan Smith (UCLA) def. David Micevski/Slava Shainyan (UTAH) 6-1
2. Govind Nanda/Connor Rapp (UCLA) def. Azat Hankuliyev/Dan Little (UTAH) 6-3
3. Bryce Pereira/Patrick Zahraj (UCLA) vs. Russell Benkaim/Joe Woolley (UTAH) 5-4, unfinished
Match Notes
Utah 17-11; National ranking #46
UCLA 17-4; National ranking #13
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (2,3,4)
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
1,2
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
2,3,4
Players Mentioned
