University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
UCLA
California
Top-Seeded Men's Tennis Dropped in Pac-12 Semis
April 26, 2019 | Men's Tennis
OJAI, Calif. – The top-seeded UCLA men's tennis team had its 13-match winning streak snapped in the semifinal round of the Pac-12 Championships Friday, falling to No. 4 California by a 4-1 score at Libbey Park.
Patrick Zahraj picked up the lone singles win of the day for the Bruins (17-5), who lost the doubles point for just the second time in their last 13 contests. Cal carried that initial point into singles play, where it picked up victories from Bjorn Hoffmann, Paul Barretto and the clinching Jacob Brumm. Cal improved to 14-11.
The fourth-ranked pair of Maxime Cressy and Keegan Smith posted another dominant performance on the top court, blanking No. 31 Jacob Brumm and Yuta Kikuchi to give UCLA the first decision of the day. The 6-0 win marked Cressy-Smith's second of the season, with both coming against Brumm-Kikuchi. The win improved the pair's record to 15-0.
Govind Nanda and Connor Rapp took back-to-back games on Court 2 for a 5-4 advantage against Paul Barretto and Can Kaya of the Golden Bears. Serving for the win, the Bruins were broken to extend the match. Barretto-Kaya rode that momentum switch to the next two games, as well, knotting doubles action at one match apiece.
With all eyes turned to Court 3, Cal forced a tiebreaker to decide the day's first point. There, Ben Draper and Jack Molloy jumped out to a 4-2 lead before Bruins Zahraj and Bryce Pereira answered with the next two points. Those would be their final points, however, as the Golden Bears took the final three and the ever-important doubles point.
UCLA and Cal split the six singles first sets, putting the Golden Bears one step closer to the overall win. Zahraj bounced back from his tough doubles loss to pull the Bruins even, dispatching of Draper 6-2, 6-3 on Court 4. The freshman from Frankfurt am Main, Germany was playing in just his third singles match of the month. Each of those matches went in his favor.
That would be the final favorable result for UCLA, as Cal quickly ran off three singles wins to finalize the match. First off was freshman Eric Hahn, who came out on the wrong end of a 6-1, 6-2 decision against Hoffmann on Court 6. Nanda took the first three games of his second set against Barretto, but the Golden Bear responded with six of the next seven for a 6-4, 6-4 outcome on Court 4. The loss marked just the fourth of the dual-match season for the freshman.
Brumm stayed a step ahead of Thursday's hero Goldberg on Court 4, turning in a 6-3, 6-2 victory to make it official. Bruins Cressy and Smith, who won their first sets, had their matches abandoned.
UCLA will have its NCAA Championships fate revealed Monday, April 29 at 3:00 p.m., PT. Pairings will be announced during a live stream on NCAA.com.
2019 PAC-12 MEN'S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP
Semifinals // Fri., April 26, 2019 // Libbey Court, Ojai. Calif.
No. 4 California 4, No. 1 UCLA 1
DOUBLES:
1. Maxime Cressy/Keegan Smith, UCLA def. Jacob Brumm/Yuta Kikuchi, CAL - 6-0
2. Paul Barretto/Can Kaya, CAL def. Govind Nanda/Connor Rapp, UCLA - 7-5
3. Ben Draper/Jack Molloy, CAL def. Bryce Pereira/Patrick Zahraj, UCLA - 7-6 (4)
Order of finish: 1, 2, 3
SINGLES:
1. Maxime Cressy, UCLA v. Yuta Kikuchi, CAL - 7-5, 3-3 unf.
2. Keegan Smith, UCLA v. Jack Molloy, CAL - 6-4, 5-4 unf.
3. Paul Barretto, CAL def. Govind Nanda, UCLA - 6-4, 6-4
4. Patrick Zahraj, UCLA def. Ben Draper, CAL - 6-2, 6-3
5. Jacob Brumm, CAL def. Ben Goldberg, UCLA - 6-3, 6-2
6. Bjorn Hoffmann, CAL def. Eric Hahn, UCLA - 6-1, 6-2
Order of finish: 4, 6, 3, 5
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:
4,6,3,5
Players Mentioned
