UCLA
Texas Tech (2nd Round)
Men's Tennis Advances to NCAA Round of 16
May 10, 2015 | Men's Tennis
UCLA and Texas Tech had already played once this year, with the Bruins taking a 4-1 win over the Red Raiders during ITA Kick-Off Weekend in late January. Doubles was very close in that contest and it was again on Saturday, with UCLA edging out Texas Tech following wins at court Nos. 2 and 3. The Bruins throughly dominated at the No. 2 spot, where 86th-ranked Joseph Di Giulio and Karue Sell downed Jolan Cailleau and Alex Sendegeya, 8-1. The other two matches, however, were extremely competitive and both ended up going to tiebreakers. Fortunately, UCLA's Dennis Mkrtchian and Austin Rapp were just too good at the No. 3 spot, cruising in their tiebreaker for an eventual 8-7(1) win over Connor Curry and Francsico Zambon. That win gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead heading into singles action.
With the doubles point in hand, UCLA got off to a solid start in singles, taking first sets on five of six courts. Every match was competitive, however the Bruins eventually began to pull away at the bottom three courts. Straight-set victories by Rapp (court No. 5) and Di Giulio (court No. 6) gave the Bruins a 3-0 lead and put UCLA within a point of clinching the match.
Both Martin Redlicki and Sell were within a game of closing out their matches at court Nos. 3 and 4, respectively. Sell, however, would end up getting the clincher, as his 6-3, 7-5 win gave the Bruins an insurmountable 4-0 lead.
When play was suspended, Redlicki was up 6-4, 5-4 over Sendegeya at the No. 3 spot, while Mackenzie McDonald owned a 7-6(7), 4-3 lead over Felipe Soares at court No. 1. The only match that UCLA trailed was at court No. 3, where Texas Tech's Hugo Dojas owned a 7-5, 4-3 lead over Mkrtchian.
UCLA and Oklahoma last squared off in the semifinals of last year's NCAA Tournament in Athens, Ga. The Sooners posted a 4-2 win in that match before going on to lose in the final to USC. UCLA and Oklahoma will meet at 7:00 a.m. (PST) on May 14.
NCAA 2nd Round
#16 UCLA 4, #19 Texas Tech 0
May 09, 2015 at Los Angeles, CA (Los Angeles Tennis Center)
| Doubles |
| 1. #12 McDonald/Redlicki (UCLA) vs. #22 Dojas/Soares (TT) 7-7, unfinished |
| 2. #86 Di Giulio/Sell (UCLA) def. Cailleau/Sendegeya (TT) 8-1 |
| 3. Mkrtchian/Rapp (UCLA) def. Curry/Zambon (TT) 8-7(1) |
UCLA Wins Doubles Point
| Singles |
| 1. #3 Mackenzie McDonald (UCLA) vs. #37 Felipe Soares (TT) 7-6(7), 4-3, unfinished |
| 2. #36 Dennis Mkrtchian (UCLA) vs. Hugo Dojas (TT) 5-7, 3-4, unfinished |
| 3. #118 Martin Redlicki (UCLA) vs. #117 Alex Sendegeya (TT) 6-4, 5-4, unfinished |
| 4. Karue Sell (UCLA) def. #123 Jolan Cailleau (TT) 6-3, 7-5 |
| 5. Austin Rapp (UCLA) def. Francisco Zambon (TT) 6-4, 6-4 |
| 6. Joseph Di Giulio (UCLA) def. Connor Curry (TT) 6-3, 6-4 |
| Match Notes |
| Texas Tech 19-9; National ranking #19 |
| UCLA 17-9; National ranking #16 |
| Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (5,6,4) |
Players Mentioned
