UCLA
UC Irvine
Men's Tennis Blanks UC Irvine, 4-0
February 23, 2020 | Men's Tennis
LOS ANGELES – The No. 14/17 UCLA men's tennis team shut out UC Irvine, 4-0, in non-conference action Sunday at Los Angeles Tennis Center.
Sophomore Mathew Tsolakyan earned his third win in row--the day's clinching decision on Court 5--for the Bruins (6-4). It was a big day for sophomore Govind Nanda and junior Keegan Smith, who each earned a singles victory and teamed to win the doubles point in a winner-take-all tiebreaker on the top court.
The Anteaters (3-3) picked up the initial win in doubles play, as Bruce Man-Son-Hing and Matthew Sah dealt Drew Baird and Max Wild a 6-4 loss on Court 3. Baird and Wild were teaming up for the first time this season.
Moving up a spot from their regular position on Court 3, Bryce Pereira and Patrick Zahraj pulled the Bruins even with a 6-4 decision of their own on the middle court. The pair dispatched of Daniel Gealer and Jeremy Merville to improve to 5-3 on the dual-match campaign.
The day's first point was decided in a thriller on Court 1, where 24th-ranked Nanda/Smith edged Mark Peneff and Mateusz Smolicki in a 7-4 tiebreaker. The result represented Nanda and Smith's team-high fifth doubles point-clinching victory of the season. They are 8-2 in dual matches.
Eighth-ranked Smith had a smoother go of it in singles play, as he defeated Peneff by a 6-3, 6-1 score on Court 1. Smith's win marked his team-high 13th of the season and the first of the day on the singles courts.
Almost simultaneously, No. 28 Nanda beat Smolicki by a 6-2, 6-4 score on Court 2 to make the score 3-0. The win improved Nanda's singles record to 11-3 (8-2 in dual matches). He's now won two in a row after suffering his first two losses of the dual-match season to start competition at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships.
Tsolakyan, who made his dual-match debut at ITA Indoors, picked up his third win in as many tries and first on Court 5 to seal the victory. The Glendale, Calif. native prevailed against Daniel Gealer, 6-3, 6-1.
UCLA will open Pac-12 play Friday, Feb. 28, when they visit Nordstrom Tennis Center to take on Washington. First serve is set for 3 p.m., PT.
Tennis Match Results
UC Irvine vs UCLA
2/23/2020 at Los Angeles, CA
(Los Angeles Tennis Center)
#17 UCLA 4, UC Irvine 0
Singles competition
1. #8 Keegan Smith (UCLA) def. Mark Peneff (UCI) 6-3, 6-1
2. #28 Govind Nanda (UCLA) def. Mateusz Smolicki (UCI) 6-2, 6-4
3. #124 Drew Baird (UCLA) vs. Jeremy Merville (UCI) 7-5, 3-1, unfinished
4. Ben Goldberg (UCLA) vs. Aaron Bailey (UCI) 6-2, 4-4, unfinished
5. Mathew Tsolakyan (UCLA) def. Daniel Gealer (UCI) 6-3, 6-1
6. Eric Hahn (UCLA) vs. Mike Mkrtchian (UCI) 6-1, 5-4, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. #24 Govind Nanda/Keegan Smith (UCLA) def. Mark Peneff/Mateusz Smolicki (UCI) 7-6 (7-4)
2. Bryce Pereira/Patrick Zahraj (UCLA) def. Daniel Gealer/Jeremy Merville (UCI) 6-4
3. Bruce Man-Son-Hing/Matthew Sah (UCI) def. Drew Baird/Max Wild (UCLA) 6-4
Match Notes:
UC Irvine 3-3
UCLA 6-4; National ranking #17
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (1,2,5)
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,2,1
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
1,2,5
Players Mentioned
