University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
UCLA
Arizona State
Visaya, Bruins Win 4-3 Thriller at Arizona State
April 02, 2023 | Men's Tennis
TEMPE, Ariz. โ With all eyes on his court, freshman Azuma Visaya prevailed in three sets to give the visiting UCLA men's tennis team a thrilling 4-3 conference victory against Arizona State Sunday afternoon at Whiteman Tennis Center.
Visaya and Giacomo Revelli won the final two matches of the day for the Bruins (9-5, 1-1 Pac-12). Gianlucca Ballotta also logged a singles win for UCLA, which began the day by taking the doubles point. The Sun Devils (11-8, 0-4) got wins from Murphy Cassone, Roi Ginat and Max McKennon.
The doubles combination of Revelli and Timothy Li earned its second win in as many tries, doubling up Jacob Bullard and Constantinos Koshis on Court 1 to give UCLA the advantage. A back-and-forth affair on Court 2 went to a tiebreaker and it was again the Bruins who proved victorious. This time, Stefan Leustian and Patrick Zahraj prevailed, running off four straight points after trailing Cassone and Ginat 2-0 en route to the 7-3 clincher.
The singles first sets were split evenly. Arizona State pulled even when McKennon capitalized on one of those starts to defeat Tripathi 6-2, 6-1 on Court 3. Another straight-set result was delivered on Court 6, where Ginat bested Leustian 6-2, 6-4 to give the Sun Devils the lead.
Ballotta tied the overall score again when he powered past Spencer Brachman in a 6-1, 7-5 decision on Court 5. The victory improved Ballotta's dual-match singles record to 6-1.
The top-court meeting of Zahraj and No. 48 Cassone went the way of the Sun Devil, whose 7-5, 6-3 win put the hosts one point away from the team triumph. Revelli ensured that would not occur on Court 2, as he closed strong to beat Bullard 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 and turned all eyes toward Court 4.
Entering his third set opposite Koshis, Visaya quickly bounced back from a lost second-set tiebreaker. The Bruin seized the first five games of the third and held serve for a 6-1, 6-7(4), 6-1 victory to set off a celebration with his teammates. The deciding win represents the third of Visaya's season (Pepperdine, Hawai'i).
UCLA stays on the road for its next contests, traveling to Northern California for Pac-12 clashes at California and No. 20 Stanford. The Bruins visit the Golden Bears' Hellman Tennis Complex Friday, April 7 at 1 p.m. PT, before taking on the Cardinal at Taube Tennis Center Saturday, April 8, also scheduled for a 1 p.m. start.
Tennis Match Results
UCLA vs Arizona State
4/2/2023 at Tempe, AZ
(Whiteman Tennis Center)
#37 UCLA 4, #42 Arizona State 3
Singles competition
1. #48 Murphy Cassone (ASU) def. Patrick Zahraj (UCLA) 7-5, 6-3
2. Giacomo Revelli (UCLA) def. Jacob Bullard (ASU) 6-2, 2-6, 6-3
3. Max McKennon (ASU) def. Aadarsh Tripathi (UCLA) 6-2, 6-1
4. Azuma Visaya (UCLA) def. Constantinos Koshis (ASU) 6-1, 6-7 (4-7), 6-1
5. Gianluca Ballotta (UCLA) def. Spencer Brachman (ASU) 6-1, 7-5
6. Roi Ginat (ASU) def. Stefan Leustian (UCLA) 6-2, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. Giacomo Revelli/Timothy Li (UCLA) def. Jacob Bullard/Constantinos Koshis (ASU) 6-3
2. Stefan Leustian/Patrick Zahraj (UCLA) def. Murphy Cassone/Roi Ginat (ASU) 7-6 (7-3)
3. Spencer Brachman/Max McKennon (ASU) vs. Jeffrey Fradkin/Aadarsh Tripathi (UCLA) 5-6, unfinished
Match Notes:
UCLA 9-5; National ranking #37
Arizona State 11-8; National ranking #42
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (3,6,5,1,2,4)
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
1,2
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
3,6,5,1,2,4
Players Mentioned
