UCLA
Oregon
Goldberg, Bruins Win Marathon Match in Eugene
March 01, 2020 | Men's Tennis
EUGENE, Ore. โ In a match that lasted nearly four hours, senior Ben Goldberg prevailed to give the UCLA men's tennis team a 4-3 win over Oregon at the UO Student Tennis Center.
The favorable all-or-nothing decision represented the second for Goldberg this season. He previously accomplished the same feat versus UCF on Jan. 26 to send the Bruins to the ITA National Team Indoor Championships. Goldberg has clinched a team-high four victories this season. He needed to win second- and third-set tiebreakers over Riki Oshima and overcame a 1-5 second-set deficit and eight match points for the latest.
BEN. GOLDBERG.
โ UCLA Men's Tennis (@uclatennis) March 1, 2020
Bruins win, 4-3!#GoBruins pic.twitter.com/QEiMAwUZ38
Junior Keegan Smith and sophomores Mathew Tsolakyan and Patrick Zahraj were also triumphant for UCLA (8-4, 2-0 in Pac-12 play). The Ducks (9-5, 0-2) captured the doubles point before getting singles wins from Emmanuel Coste and Ty Gentry.
Oshima and Jesper Klov-Nilsson wasted no time getting Oregon its first doubles win, as the pair beat Zahraj and junior Bryce Pereira by a 6-1 score on Court 3. Freshman Drew Baird and redshirt junior Connor Rapp were nearing victory for the Bruins on Court 2, but the top-25 showdown on the top court wrapped first with a Duck win. No. 11 Joshua Charlton and Ty Gentry took down No. 24 Smith and sophomore Govind Nanda in the decider.
No. 8 Smith quickly bounced back in singles play, as he overpowered No. 19 Charlton for a 6-2, 6-2 victory on the top court. The ranked win marked Smith's second of the trip and team-high eighth of the season.
Tiebreakers on Courts 5 and 6 concluded almost simultaneously to give UCLA a firm grasp on momentum. Tsolakyan and Brandon Lam split sets on Court 6 and needed a tiebreaker in the final frame to determine a winner and Tsolakyan's winning streak stayed alive. The Glendale, Calif. native posted a 6-3, 1-6, 7-6(4) victory for his fifth in as many tries. One court up, meanwhile, Zahraj was finishing off Luke Vandecasteele to make the score 3-1. Zahraj's straight-set win was far from easy, as he held on for a 7-5, 7-6(3) result.
Just as soon as the Bruins looked destined to win, Oregon charged back on Courts 2 and 3. Gentry sandwiched two 7-5 set victories around Baird's 6-4 second on Court 3 to make it 3-2 and Emmanuel Coste overcame 28th-ranked Nanda on Court 2 for a 7-6(7), 2-6, 6-3 decision to turn all eyes to Court 4.
Trailing 5-7, 1-5, Goldberg could not have started his rally any later. He forced a tiebreaker in the second set, which he took by a 7-5 margin to send the match to a third set. There, another tiebreaker was deemed necessary and Goldberg collected the first point and never looked back en route to the 5-7, 7-6(5), 7-6(1) win.
UCLA will take a short break from its dual-match schedule to head for La Jolla, Calif. and the Pacific Coast Doubles Championships. Play from the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club starts Friday, March 6 and concludes Sunday, March 8.
Tennis Match Results
UCLA vs Oregon
3/1/2020 at Eugene, OR
(UO Student Tennis Center)
#22 UCLA 4, Oregon 3
Singles competition
1. #8 Keegan Smith (UCLA) def. #19 Joshua Charlton (ORE) 6-2, 6-2
2. Emmanuel Coste (ORE) def. #28 Govind Nanda (UCLA) 7-6 (9-7), 2-6, 6-3
3. Ty Gentry (ORE) def. #124 Drew Baird (UCLA) 7-5, 4-6, 7-5
4. Ben Goldberg (UCLA) def. Riki Oshima (ORE) 5-7, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-1)
5. Patrick Zahraj (UCLA) def. Luke Vandecasteele (ORE) 7-5, 7-6 (7-3)
6. Mathew Tsolakyan (UCLA) def. Brandon Lam (ORE) 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (7-4)
Doubles competition
1. #11 Joshua Charlton/Ty Gentry (ORE) def. #24 Govind Nanda/Keegan Smith (UCLA) 6-4
2. Brandon Lam/Charles Roberts (ORE) vs. Drew Baird/Connor Rapp (UCLA) 5-6, unfinished
3. Jesper Klov-Nilsson/Riki Oshima (ORE) def. Bryce Pereira/Patrick Zahraj (UCLA) 6-1
Match Notes:
UCLA 8-4; National ranking #22
Oregon 9-5
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (1,6,5,3,2,4)
T-3:48
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#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:
1,6,5,3,2,4
Players Mentioned
