University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
UCLA
Oracle ITA Masters
Smith Comes Up Just Short at Oracle ITA Masters
September 29, 2019 | Men's Tennis
MALIBU, Calif. – UCLA men's tennis junior Keegan Smith made a run to the Oracle ITA Masters singles final round before bowing out against USC's Daniel Cukierman in three sets Sunday.
Smith made a statement early against Cukierman, winning six of eight games for the first set win of the day. The Trojan answered in the second, though, doubling up Smith to force a deciding third set. There, Smith forced deuce at 4-5, but Cukierman would not allow him to pull back even.
Smith got off to a flying start on Thursday, beating South Alabama's Alexis Collard, 6-2, 6-2, in the first round. The next day would see Smith take on a frequent foe of the Bruins, Lorenzo Fucile of Grand Canyon. Once again, Smith coasted to victory, this time by a 6-3, 6-1 decision to set up a quarterfinal-round match later that day.
No. 28 Joseph Guillin of UC Santa Barbara was next up on the docket, in what was a rematch of a 2019 dual match that Smith captured in straight sets. It was more of the same this time around, as the Bruin moved into the semifinals with a 6-3, 6-4 victory.
Smith had a much tougher go of it in the final four against 23rd-ranked Alex Brown of Illinois. After holding off his counterpart in the opening set, Smith dropped the second by a 6-3 margin. With a trip to the final round on the line, Smith took over in the third, rolling to a 6-1 score and match win.
The event also featured a mixed-doubles tournament, with Smith playing alongside UCLA women's tennis freshman Abbey Forbes as the field's top seed. The pair did as they were supposed to early, blanking Guido Argentini (Bryant) and Alexa Quintanilla (Mount St. Mary's) to set up second-round match later that day against the Pepperdine combination of Corrado Summaria and Jessica Failla. The Bruins proved too tough for the hometown Waves, surrendering just two games on its way to Friday's quarterfinals. There, the pair held off Jack Lin/Luliia Bryzgalova (Columbia/Penn), 6-4. The Smith/Forbes run would end in the semifinals, where the duo fell in a thriller against Juan Carlos Aguilar/Katarina Jokic, 8-6.
