UCLA
Fresno State (ITA Indoor Qualifying)
Bruins Blank Bulldogs, 4-0
January 29, 2012 | Men's Tennis
Jan. 29, 2012
LOS ANGELES - The ninth-ranked UCLA men's tennis team qualified for next month's USTA/ITA National Team Indoor Championships on Sunday following a 4-0 victory over Fresno State during ITA Kick-Off Weekend at the Los Angeles Tennis Center. The Bruins (4-0) will take part in the 16-team indoor event from Feb. 17-20 in Charlottesville, Va.
Doubles play couldn't have been any closer on Saturday, as the point came down to court No. 2, where Fresno State's David Ayoun and Zachary Leslie were in a tight battle with UCLA's Alex Brigham and Marcos Giron. Ayoun and Leslie actually had two match points in the showdown, with the first one coming when Giron was serving at 7-8 to keep UCLA in the match. The other came when the Bulldogs owned 6-5 advantage in the tiebreaker. The Bruins, however, were able to fend off both Fresno State chances, eventually converting a match point of their own up 7-6 in the tiebreaker to take the match 9-8(6).
UCLA rode the momentum from it's emotional doubles victory to move out to an early lead in singles play, winning four of six first sets. Freshmen Dennis Mkrtchian and Giron both notched straight-set wins to give UCLA a 3-0 advantage. That opened the way for junior Maxime Tabatruong to clinch it at court No. 4, as he downed Leslie, 6-4, 6-2 to give the Bruins the 4-0 victory.
UCLA heads to the Bay Area next weekend for a pair of matches against Cal and Stanford. The results of those matches will not count in the Pac-12 standings.
#9 UCLA 4, #35 Fresno State 0
Jan 29, 2012 at Los Angeles, CA (Los Angeles Tennis Center)
| Doubles |
| 1. Meister/Puget (UCLA) def. Boutillier/Alcantara (FSU) 8-6 |
| 2. Alex Brigham/Giron (UCLA) def. Ayoun/Leslie (FSU) 9-8(6) |
| 3. Diame/Sai Kartik Nakireddi (FSU) def. Warren Hardie/Mkrtchian (UCLA) 8-6 |
| Singles |
| 1. Nick Meister (UCLA) vs. #14 Remi Boutillier (FSU) 5-7, 5-3, unfinished |
| 2. #72 Clay Thompson (UCLA) vs. #44 Francis Alcantara (FSU) 6-4, 1-2, unfinished |
| 3. #86 Marcos Giron (UCLA) def. Jean-Charles Diame (FSU) 6-4, 6-4 |
| 4. Maxime Tabatruong (UCLA) def. Zachary Leslie (FSU) 6-4, 6-2 |
| 5. Dennis Mkrtchian (UCLA) def. David Ayoun (FSU) 6-4, 6-1 |
| 6. #94 Adrien Puget (UCLA) vs. Reid deLaubenfels (FSU) 4-6, 6-0, 2-1, unfinished |
| Match Notes |
| Fresno State 1-1; National ranking #35 |
| UCLA 4-0; National ranking #9 |
| Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (5,3,4) |
| UCLA advances to USTA/ITA National Team Indoors in Charlottesville, Va. |
Players Mentioned
