UCLA
Liberty
Men's Tennis Defeats Liberty, 6-1
March 09, 2020 | Men's Tennis
LOS ANGELES โ The UCLA men's tennis defeated Liberty, 6-1, Monday afternoon at Los Angeles Tennis Center. The match was previously set for Tuesday, but rescheduled due to rain in the forecast.
Sophomore Roscoe Bellamy's first-career dual-match victory clinched the overall result. Freshman Drew Baird, junior Keegan Smith and sophomoresย Govind Nanda and Mathew Tsolakyan also logged singles wins for the Bruins (9-4), who prevailed for the fifth time in a row. Goncalo Ferreira turned in the lone victory for the Flames (8-5). A tiebreaker was needed to decide the doubles point, which UCLA grabbed on Court 3.
Roscoe Bellamy with the big serve to secure the victory for the Bruins!
โ UCLA Men's Tennis (@uclatennis) March 9, 2020
The remaining two matches will be played out pic.twitter.com/UNmWJDvHLg
The 29th-ranked doubles combination of Nanda and Smith earned the first win of the day with a 6-1 defeat of Ferreira and Josh Wilson on the top court. The victory improved the UCLA pair's overall record to 12-4 while pushing its dual-match mark to 9-3.
Each of the remaining doubles matches was stretched to its limit. With Baird/Connor Rapp leading in its tiebreaker on Court 2, Bryce Pereira and Patrick Zahraj finished their own on the third court. Pereira/Zahraj handed Chase Burton and Deji Thomas-Smith a 7-2 loss to take the game and clinch the initial point. The win marked the third in fourth tries for Pereira/Zahraj.
No. 21 Nanda improved to 5-0 at home with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Wilson on Court 2 that made the score 2-0. Nanda has won four of five decisions and leads the team with 10 dual-match wins.
Right behind him is his doubles partner, Smith, who posted his eighth victory of the campaign on the top court. The San Diego native handed Nicaise Muamba a 6-1, 6-4 loss to put the Bruins one win away from the overall decision.
Ferreira gave Liberty a flicker of hope on Court 4, where he dealt senior Ben Goldberg his first loss in nearly one month. Ferreira's 6-4, 6-3 triumph made the score 3-1.
Bellamy, who had not seen any match action since January's National Collegiate Tennis Classic, did not miss a beat in his return to the court. Facing off against Thomas-Smith on Court 6, Bellamy shut the door with a 6-2, 6-3 decision. Bellamy suffered one loss and had two contests go unfinished in his previous three dual matches played.
The remaining two matches were played out, with Baird and Tsolakyan closing it out for UCLA. Baird edged Chase Burton in the first set on Court 3, but the Bruin cruised in the second for a 7-5, 6-2 victory. Tsolakyan was forced into a third set by Rafael Marques Da Silva on Court 5, but pulled out a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 win for his sixth without a loss. Each of Tsolakyan's last three victories has come in three sets.
UCLA will return to action Thursday, when crosstown rival and top-ranked USC visits Los Angeles Tennis Center for a non-conference match. First serve is scheduled for 3 p.m., PT.
Tennis Match Results
Liberty vs UCLA
3/9/2020 at Los Angeles, CA
(Los Angeles Tennis Center)
#22 UCLA 6, Liberty 1
Singles competition
1. #4 Keegan Smith (UCLA) def. Nicaise Muamba (LIB) 6-1, 6-4
2. #21 Govind Nanda (UCLA) def. Josh Wilson (LIB) 6-3, 6-1
3. Drew Baird (UCLA) def. Chase Burton (LIB) 7-5, 6-2
4. Goncalo Ferreira (LIB) def. Ben Goldberg (UCLA) 6-4, 6-3
5. Mathew Tsolakyan (UCLA) def. R. Marques Da Silva (LIB) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
6. Roscoe Bellamy (UCLA) def. Deji Thomas-Smith (LIB) 6-2, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. #29 Govind Nanda/Keegan Smith (UCLA) def. Goncalo Ferreira/Josh Wilson (LIB) 6-1
2. Drew Baird/Connor Rapp (UCLA) vs. R. Marques Da Silva/Nicaise Muamba (LIB) 6-6 (4-2), unfinished
3. Bryce Pereira/Patrick Zahraj (UCLA) def. Chase Burton/Deji Thomas-Smith (LIB) 7-6 (7-2)
Match Notes:
Liberty 8-5
UCLA 9-4; National ranking #22
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (2,1,4,6,3,5)
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
1,3
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
2,1,4,6,3,5
Players Mentioned
