UCLA
UCF
Goldberg, Bruins Edge UCF in ITA Kickoff Final
January 26, 2020 | Men's Tennis
LOS ANGELES โ Facing deuce point, senior Ben Goldberg came out on top of a 25-shot rally and sealed the No. 10 UCLA men's tennis team's 4-3 defeat of UCF Sunday afternoon at Los Angeles Tennis Center.
Goldberg beat No. 108 Bogdan Pavel, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, to clinch the win and berth into next month's ITA National Team Indoor Championships in Madison, Wis. The Bruins (3-0) got their other singles victories from sophomores Govind Nanda and Patrick Zahraj. Zahraj also teamed with junior Bryce Pereira to run off seven tiebreaker points in a row and capture a winner-take-all doubles result.
After a LONG rally, Ben Goldberg wins it!
โ UCLA Men's Tennis (@uclatennis) January 27, 2020
The senior takes down No. 108 Pavel, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4.#GoBruins | #ITAKickoff pic.twitter.com/xpyyFHGH34
UCF (2-2) got the day's first win, as its sixth-ranked doubles tandem of Gabriel Decamps and Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi charged past Drew Baird and Connor Rapp for a 6-2 result. The Bruins soon pulled even, though, as Nanda and junior Keegan Smith topped Pavel and Trey Hilderbrand on the top court, 6-4. The win marked the pair's sixth in seven tries and third in a row to start dual-match play.
With all eyes shifted to Court 3, the matchup between Pereira/Zahraj and JanMagnus Johnson/Alan Rubio fittingly went to a tiebreaker. The Knights secured the initial point, but saw the UCLA duo take the rest and the day's first point.
Mikhail Sokolovskiy pulled UCF even with a 6-4, 6-1 defeat of Connor Hance on Court 6.
Zahraj endured a furious second-set comeback by Johnson to take the final two games for a 6-1, 7-5 victory that put a brief halt to the Knights' rally. UCF would pull even again with a win in the day's marquee match, as No. 22 Decamps best No. 7 Smith in three sets, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2. The loss marked the Bruin's first since November's Oracle ITA National Fall Championships.
Nanda picked UCLA up on Court 2, upsetting 29th-ranked Grassi Mazzuchi in three sets. After being doubled up in the first set, Grassi Mazzuchi returned the favor in the second. Nanda recovered to take six of eight third-set games, though, for the win.
Baird and Goldberg were both in third sets with the Bruins leading by a 3-2 score. Alan Rubio of the Knights would triumph in a match that saw momentum shift on numerous occasions, registering a 7-6 (3), 4-6, 7-5 victory to tie things up with Goldberg serving 5-4.
Goldberg would not let Pavel pull even again, though, placing his final ball on the baseline to his counterpart's challenge, which was overruled. The Bruin collapsed to the ground before being swarmed by his teammates.
UCLA will hit the road for its next two matches, non-conference duels with California and Stanford. The Bruins will meet the Golden Bears on Friday, Jan. 31 at 1:30 p.m., PT, before completing their back-to-back with the Cardinal on Saturday, Feb. 1 at 2 p.m.
Tennis Match Results
UCF vs UCLA
1/26/2020 at Los Angeles, CA
(Los Angeles Tennis Center)
#10 UCLA 4, UCF 3
Singles competition
1. #22 Gabriel Decamps (UCF) def. #7 Keegan Smith (UCLA) 6-2, 4-6, 6-2
2. Govind Nanda (UCLA) def. #29 J. Grassi Mazzuchi (UCF) 6-3, 3-6, 6-2
3. Alan Rubio (UCF) def. Drew Baird (UCLA) 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 7-5
4. Ben Goldberg (UCLA) def. #108 Bogdan Pavel (UCF) 6-3, 5-7, 6-4
5. Patrick Zahraj (UCLA) def. JanMagnus Johnson (UCF) 6-1, 7-5
6. Mikhail Sokolovskiy (UCF) def. Connor Hance (UCLA) 6-4, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. Govind Nanda/Keegan Smith (UCLA) def. Trey Hilderbrand/Bogdan Pavel (UCF) 6-4
2. #6 Gabriel Decamps/J. Grassi Mazzuchi (UCF) def. Drew Baird/Connor Rapp (UCLA) 6-2
3. Bryce Pereira/Patrick Zahraj (UCLA) def. JanMagnus Johnson/Alan Rubio (UCF) 7-6 (7-1)
Match Notes:
UCF 2-2
UCLA 2-0; National ranking #10
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (6,5,1,2,3,4)
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
2,1,3
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
6,5,1,2,3,4
Players Mentioned
