UCLA
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Western Michigan
Men's Tennis Defeats Western Michigan, 7-0
February 11, 2020 | Men's Tennis
CHICAGO โ The No. 16 UCLA men's tennis team defeated Western Michigan, 7-0, Tuesday afternoon at Midtown Athletic Club.
The match represents the third of at least six matches in a row away from Los Angeles Tennis Center for the Bruins (4-2). They will head for Madison, Wis. and the ITA National Team Indoor Championships next, with an opening tilt against No. 4 Texas set for Friday at 7 a.m., PT.
Senior Ben Goldberg clinched the win over the Broncos (5-5). UCLA dropped just one set over the course of the match, its first since Feb. 1.
The doubles tandem of junior Bryce Pereira and sophomore Patrick Zahraj picked up its fourth dual-match victory in five tries for the Bruins, making quick work of Arjun Honnappa/Kennosuke Nouchi on Court 3. The 6-1 triumph stood as the match's lone decision for a prolonged period, as each of UCLA's remaining two courts held 6-5 leads before the point was decided.
Sophomore Govind Nanda and junior Keegan Smith improved to 5-1 with a 7-5 defeat of Peter Kuszynski and Jannik Opitz on the top court, giving the Bruins the day's first point.
Nanda, playing in his first match since being elevated to a career-best No. 10 in the Oracle ITA singles rankings, blew past No. 124 Kennosuke Nouchi for a 6-1, 6-2 win on Court 2 for the first singles decision. Seven of Nanda's 10 singles matches played this season have featured a ranked counterpart. Nanda is 6-1 in those matches.
Zahraj was next off, posting a 6-3, 6-2 defeat of Rodrigo Crespo on Court 5 to put the Bruins one favorable result shy of the overall victory.
Goldberg, who previously clinched a 4-3 win versus UCF in the ITA Kickoff Weekend championship match, wrapped up a 6-4, 6-3 decision on Court 4 to put UCLA back in the win column.
The remaining matches were played out and those results followed quickly. Freshman Drew Baird came out on top of a second-set tiebreaker against WMU's Kuszynski on Court 3, finishing up a 6-4, 7-6(1) result. No. 6 Smith needed a third set versus Opitz on the top court, which he took by way of a 10-point tiebreaker for a 6-4, 6-7(4), 1-0 (2) victory. The final decision occurred on Court 6, where sophomore Eric Hahn collected his first dual-match win of the season, 7-5, 7-5 against Zac Faveri. Hahn bounced back from a 1-5 deficit in the first set.
Tennis Match Results
Western Michigan vs UCLA
2/11/2020 at Chicago, IL
(Midtown Athletic Club)
#16 UCLA 7, Western Michigan 0
Singles competition
1. #6 Keegan Smith (UCLA) def. Jannik Opitz (WMU) 6-4, 6-7 (4-7), 1-0 (10-2)
2. #10 Govind Nanda (UCLA) def. #124 Kennosuke Nouchi (WMU) 6-1, 6-2
3. Drew Baird (UCLA) def. Peter Kuszynski (WMU) 6-4, 7-6 (7-1)
4. Ben Goldberg (UCLA) def. Jack Randall (WMU) 6-4, 6-3
5. Patrick Zahraj (UCLA) def. Rodrigo Crespo (WMU) 6-3, 6-2
6. Eric Hahn (UCLA) def. Zac Faveri (WMU) 7-5, 7-5
Doubles competition
1. Govind Nanda/Keegan Smith (UCLA) def. Peter Kuszynski/Jannik Opitz (WMU) 7-5
2. Drew Baird/Connor Rapp (UCLA) vs. Rodrigo Crespo/Jack Randall (WMU) 6-5, unfinished
3. Bryce Pereira/Patrick Zahraj (UCLA) def. Arjun Honnappa/Kennosuke Nouchi (WMU) 6-1
Match Notes:
Western Michigan 5-5
UCLA 4-2; National ranking #16
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (2,5,4,3,1,6)
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
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#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,1
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
2,5,4,3,1,6
Players Mentioned
