University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
UCLA
San Diego State
No. 10 Bruins Best Aztecs in ITA Kickoff Action
January 25, 2020 | Men's Tennis
LOS ANGELES โ The UCLA men's tennis team earned a win in its ITA Kickoff Weekend debut, defeating San Diego State by a 4-1 score at Los Angeles Tennis Center.
The Bruins will meet UCF in the Sunday's championship match at 1:30 p.m., PT. The Knights edged San Diego in Saturday's morning match at LATC, 4-3.
Junior Keegan Smith clinched the victory on the top court for the UCLA (1-0), while sophomore Govind Nanda and junior Connor Hance also posted singles wins. Nanda and Smith teamed to clinch the doubles point, as well.
Govind Nanda and Keegan Smith raced out to a 5-1 advantage versus Ignacio Martinez and Aaro Pollanen on the top doubles court, only to have the Aztecs take the next three games. The Bruin lead proved insurmountable, though, as Nanda/Smith secured a 6-4 win.
With Bryce Pereira/Patrick Zahraj of UCLA and Arnaud Restifo/Fabian Roensdorf of San Diego State destined for a tiebreaker on Court 3, Court-2 Bruins Drew Baird and Connor Rapp took control down the stretch in their match. Leading 5-4 against Rafael Gonzalez Almazan and Jan Kirchhoff, Baird/Rapp earned a break of serve to lock up the day's first point.
Nanda cruised through his first set against Pollanen on Court 2, failing to give up as much as a game. The Bruin did not let up in the second, either, doubling up his counterpart to increase his team's lead to 2-0. Hance, who clinched UCLA's home win last week versus BYU, shined again on Court 6 with a 6-2, 6-3 defeat of Ignacio Martinez to put the Aztecs on the brink of elimination.
Kirchoff gave San Diego State momentary life with his performance on Court 3, knocking off Baird in a 6-3, 6-4 result.
Shortly thereafter, however, No. 7 Smith delivered the final blow with a 6-2, 7-5 victory over Roensdorf up top. The win improved the San Diego native's overall record to 10-2.
Tennis Match Results
San Diego State vs UCLA
1/25/2020 at Los Angeles, CA
(Los Angeles Tennis Center)
#10 UCLA 4, San Diego State 1
Singles competition
1. #7 Keegan Smith (UCLA) def. Fabian Roensdorf (SDSU) 6-2, 7-5
2. Govind Nanda (UCLA) def. Aaro Pollanen (SDSU) 6-0, 6-3
3. Jan Kirchhoff (SDSU) def. Drew Baird (UCLA) 6-3, 6-4
4. Ben Goldberg (UCLA) vs. David Hough (SDSU) 6-3, 5-3, unfinished
5. Patrick Zahraj (UCLA) vs. Arnaud Restifo (SDSU) 6-7 (4-7), 1-1, unfinished
6. Connor Hance (UCLA) def. Ignacio Martinez (SDSU) 6-2, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. Keegan Smith/Govind Nanda (UCLA) def. Ignacio Martinez/Aaro Pollanen (SDSU) 6-4
2. Drew Baird/Connor Rapp (UCLA) def. R. Gonzalez Almazan/Jan Kirchhoff (SDSU) 6-4
3. Bryce Pereira/Patrick Zahraj (UCLA) vs. Arnaud Restifo/Fabian Roensdorf (SDSU) 6-6 (3-1), unfinished
Match Notes:
San Diego State 1-2
UCLA 2-0; National ranking #10
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (2,6,3,1)
ITA Kickoff Weekend
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:
2,6,3,1
Players Mentioned
