UCLA
Oklahoma St (NCAA Rd. of 16)
Bruins Down Cowboys, 4-0 in NCAA Round of 16
May 17, 2003 | Men's Tennis
May 17, 2003
Athens, Ga. - The sixth-seeded UCLA men's tennis team won the doubles point, and then registered three consecutive singles victories Saturday, defeating Oklahoma State, 4-0 in the round of 16 at the NCAA Championships. UCLA (23-3) advances to Sunday's quarterfinals and will take on third-seeded Florida. The Gators (25-4) struggled to get past No. 14 Texas, 4-3 Saturday.
UCLA, which improves to 22-0 when it wins the doubles point, was tested in doubles but managed to pull out victories at the Nos. 1 and 3 courts. In the No. 3 spot, UCLA's Erfan Djahangiri/Alberto Francis defeated Oklahoma State's Boris Kuharic/Felipe Diaz, 8-5. At the top spot, the Bruin tandem of Rodrigo Grilli and Marcin Matkowski defeated Oklahoma State's Mark van Elden/Jiri Jezek, 8-5 to clinch the point. UCLA's Tobias Clemens and Lassi Ketola were leading 7-6 at No. 2 doubles when play was suspended.
The Bruins came out strong in singles play, winning the first set on all six courts. First to finish was Matkowski, who posted a 6-2, 6-2 decision over Yevgen Bondarchuk at No. 2 singles. Bruin senior Erfan Djahangiri was next off, as he recorded a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Tomas Bohunicky.
With a comfortable 3-0 advantage, Bruin sophomore Chris Lam clinched the match for UCLA at the No. 4 position, defeating Jezek, 6-3, 6-1.
Both Clemens and Ketola were up a set, and Grilli was up 1-0 in the third when play was suspended.
UCLA advances to the quarterfinals at NCAAs for the 26th time in the last 27 years. The Bruins also improve to 25-6 all-time in NCAA Quarterfinal matches. Saturday marked the third straight shutout of the NCAA Tournament for UCLA, which also posted 4-0 decisions over Wichita State and USC in the first and second rounds respectively.
The Bruins and Gators have met once already this season, with Florida taking a 4-1 victory in the semifinals of the USTA/ITA National Team Indoor Championships back in February. UCLA knocked Florida out of the NCAA Tournament in 2002, defeating the Gators, 4-0 in the round of 16 at Texas A&M.
Doubles
| Pos. | Opponents | Score |
| 1. | (24) Grilli/Matkowski (UCLA) def. van Elden/Jezek (OSU) | 8-5 |
| 2. | (51) Clemens/Ketola (UCLA) vs. Bondarchuk/Spousta (OSU) | Susp. |
| 3. | Djahangiri/ Alberto Francis (UCLA) def. Felipe Diaz/Kuharic (OSU) | 8-5 |
| UCLA Wins Doubles Point | ||
Singles
| Pos. | Opponents | Score |
| 1. | (5) Tobias Clemens (UCLA) vs. (59) Mark van Elden (OSU) | Susp. |
| 2. | (24) Marcin Matkowski (UCLA) def. Yevgen Bondarchuk (OSU) | 6-2, 6-2 |
| 3. | (98) Rodrigo Grilli (UCLA) vs. Boris Kuharic (OSU) | Susp. |
| 4. | (37) Chris Lam (UCLA) def. Jiri Jezek (OSU) | 6-3, 6-1* |
| 5. | (88) Erfan Djahangiri (UCLA) def. Tomas Bohunicky (OSU) | 6-1, 6-4 |
| 6. | Lassi Ketola (UCLA) vs. Jiri Spousta (OSU) | Susp. |
| * Denotes Clinching Match -- Order of Finish (Singles): 2, 5, 4 | ||
