UCLA
TCU
UCLA Drops Consolation Match to TCU
February 17, 2019 | Men's Tennis
CHICAGO โ The No. 7 UCLA men's tennis team fell to No. 15 TCU 4-0 in an ITA Team Indoor Championships consolation match Sunday at Midtown Athletic Club.
The loss concludes the sixth-seeded Bruins' time at the annual tournament. They previously recorded a 4-1 victory over 11-seed Notre Dame Friday and gave No. 1-ranked Wake Forest all it could handle in a 4-3 loss Saturday. The win improved TCU's overall record to 6-3 and dropped UCLA to 4-3.
Doubles play was too close to call in the early goings, as each match went without a service break until well into competition. Each of the three contests saw first-serving TCU take a 4-3 lead before the tides began to turns.
The Horned Frogs' duo of Luc Fomba and Sander Jong made it 5-3 on Court 3 and went on to hold for a 6-3 win over Bryce Pereira and Patrick Zahraj. The loss marked Pereira-Zahraj's first of the trip and dropped the tandem to 6-2 on the year.
In a mirror image of the Court 3 match, TCU's team of Bertus Kruger and Reese Stalder broke through at 4-3 to move within a game of victory. With extra motivation fueled by the Horned Frogs earlier doubles triumph, Kruger-Stalder made it 1-0 with a 6-4 win over Ben Goldberg and Govind Nanda.
TCU registered five first-set wins, with Zahraj logging the lone UCLA advantage on Court 3.
No. 83 Kruger increased the Horned Frog lead to 2-0 with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Mathew Tsolakyan on Court 4.
Fomba followed with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Goldberg on Court 5, dealing the Bruin his first loss at Indoors. The junior previously turned in wins against nationally-ranked opponents William Howells of Notre Dame and Rrezart Cungu of Wake.
TCU's Alastair Gray, ranked 75th by ITA, doubled up Nanda in the opening frame on Court 2. The Bruin freshman went to a tiebreaker against Gray in the second, though, but was unable to take the match any further. The overall win marked the Horned Frogs second of the trip, having previously dispatched No. 2 Mississippi State on Day 1.
Bruins Zahraj, Maxime Cressy and Eric Hahn were in third sets at the time of completion.
UCLA will face off with crosstown rival and fifth-ranked USC in a non-conference match Friday, Feb. 22 at Marks Stadium. First serve is scheduled for 3 p.m.
Tennis Match Results
TCU vs UCLA
2/17/2019 at Chicago, IL
(Midtown Athletic Club)
#15 TCU 4, #7 UCLA 0
Singles competition
1. Maxime Cressy (UCLA) vs. #8 Alex Rybakov (TCU) 4-6, 7-5, 1-0, unfinished
2. #75 Alastair Gray (TCU) def. Govind Nanda (UCLA) 6-3, 7-6 (7-4)
3. Patrick Zahraj (UCLA) vs. Reese Stalder (TCU) 6-4, 3-6, 2-2, unfinished
4. #83 Bertus Kruger (TCU) def. Mathew Tsolakyan (UCLA) 6-4, 6-1
5. Luc Fomba (TCU) def. Ben Goldberg (UCLA) 6-4, 6-4
6. Eric Hahn (UCLA) vs. Sander Jong (TCU) 3-6, 6-3, 0-3, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. Maxime Cressy/Connor Rapp (UCLA) vs. Alastair Gray/Alex Rybakov (TCU) 4-4, unfinished
2. #48 Bertus Kruger/Reese Stalder (TCU) def. Ben Goldberg/Govind Nanda (UCLA) 6-3
3. Luc Fomba/Sander Jong (TCU) def. Bryce Pereira/Patrick Zahraj (UCLA) 6-3
Match Notes:
TCU 6-3; National ranking #15
UCLA 4-3; National ranking #7
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (4,5,2)
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,2
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
4,5,2
Players Mentioned
