UCLA
Ohio State
Bruins Upset No. 2 Buckeyes, Advance to Semis
February 17, 2018 | Men's Tennis
SEATTLE โ The No. 7 UCLA men's tennis team advanced to the ITA Team Indoor Championships semifinal Saturday with an upset of No. 2 Ohio State, 4-1, at the Seattle Tennis Club. The Bruins will face the winner of the Seattle Tennis Club's second match between No. 3 North Carolina and No. 6 Texas A&M. Sunday's first semifinal match will begin at noon.
Senior Logan Staggs fought back from what seemed an insurmountable deficit in his first set, only to rally and eventually clinch the upset win over the previously undefeated Buckeyes.
Staggs clinches it for the Bruins, who advance to the #ITAIndoors semifinals!! pic.twitter.com/kynAbrQxUK
โ UCLA Men's Tennis (@uclatennis) February 17, 2018
"We've had so many great matches through the years with Ohio State," said UCLA head coach Billy Martin. "We know they're a great teamโespecially indoors. I can't say I was overconfident by any means against them."
The Bruin doubles teams came out with a fury, not only jumping out to a lead on each court, but maintaining those advantages throughout on two. The tandem of Maxime Cressy and Bryce Pereira was first to finish for UCLA (10-1), keeping 43rd-ranked Hunter Tubert and Matt Mendez at bay en route to a 6-4 victory on Court 3. Austin Rapp-Keegan Smith got up two breaks on John McNally and JJ Wolf on Court 2, but received a late push from the Buckeye duo. Austin Rapp and Smith would not let that opportunity to escape, though, dealing the Buckeyes (9-1) their first loss of a doubles point this season, 6-4.
Four first sets went the way of UCLA in singles play as the Bruins looked poised to complete the upset. Freshman Connor Hance quickly made his mark, continuing his early-season success with a straight-set win over Joyce on Court 6, 6-3, 6-4, to push the Bruin lead to 2-0. Hance is 5-1 on the dual-match campaign.
In a matchup between two of the nation's top players, No. 5 Mikael Torpegaard of the Buckeyes knocked off No. 1 Martin Redlicki in straights, 6-4, 6-4, to cut the Bruin lead in half.
With momentum sliding slightly to the side of the Buckeyes, No. 41 JJ Wolf appeared ready to take advantage of a second-set tiebreak he was able to force against Evan Zhu of the Bruins on Court 2. Already a winner of the match's first set, Zhu would not let his sophomore counterpart force a third, though, taking the tiebreak by a narrow 7-5 margin.
No. 107 Smith split his first two sets on Court 3 and Cressy looked destined for the same fate on Court 5, putting the onus on Staggs complete the task.
No. 58 Staggs trailed 0-3 and 3-5 in his first set against Ohio State's Tim Seibert. The Bruin senior's resilience ultimately prevailed against the Buckeye freshman, however, taking the first frame by a 7-5 score. Then, in the second, Staggs again fell behind, 0-2, but turned it around in a major way, securing six of the next seven games, the Court 4 match, 7-5, 6-3, and the quarterfinal victory.
"Great team victory for us against a really good team that we always know competes really hard," said Martin. "Going on to play either A&M or North Carolina, which we know are two great teams also."
In 2016, the seventh-seeded Bruins upset No. 2-seed Texas A&M in the quarterfinal round of ITA Indoors to secure a trip to the tournament's semifinal round.
Tennis Match Results
UCLA vs Ohio State
Feb 17, 2018 at Seattle, Wash.
(Seattle Tennis Club)
No. 7 UCLA 4, No. 2 Ohio State 1
Singles competition
1. #5 Mikael Torpegaard (OSU) def. #1 Martin Redlicki (UCLA) 6-4, 6-4
2. Evan Zhu (UCLA) def. #41 JJ Wolf (OSU) 6-3, 7-6(5)
3. #107 Keegan Smith (UCLA) vs. #56 John McNally (OSU) 4-6, 6-2, 1-3, unfinished
4. #58 Logan Staggs (UCLA) def. Tim Seibert (OSU) 7-5, 6-3
5. Maxime Cressy (UCLA) vs. #30 Kyle Seelig (OSU) 7-6(3), 5-6, unfinished
6. Connor Hance (UCLA) def. Martin Joyce (OSU) 6-3, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. Martin Redlicki/Evan Zhu (UCLA) vs. #25 Mikael Torpegaard/Martin Joyce (OSU) 5-6, unfinished
2. Austin Rapp/Keegan Smith (UCLA) def. John McNally/JJ Wolf (OSU) 6-4
3. Maxime Cressy/Bryce Pereira (UCLA) def. #43 Hunter Tubert/Matt Mendez (OSU) 6-4
Match Notes:
UCLA 10-1; National ranking #7
Ohio State 9-1; National ranking #2
Order of Finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (6,1,2,4)
Players Mentioned
