UCLA
USC
No. 14 UCLA Falls 4-1 at No. 24 USC
February 22, 2019 | Men's Tennis
LOS ANGELES โ The No. 14 UCLA men's tennis team fell to No. 24 USC 4-1 Friday in a non-conference match at Marks Tennis Stadium.
Govind Nanda turned in the lone win of the day for the Bruins (4-4), who briefly cut their deficit to 2-1 with the freshman's Court 2 triumph. Riley Smith clinched the match for the Trojans (7-5).
The UCLA pair of Ben Goldberg and Connor Rapp played Bradley Frye and Tanner Smith point for point early on, as each side took two of the first four games. The tide soon turned in the favor of the Trojan tandem, however, as Frye-Tanner Smith ran off the final four games to give USC the edge.
The Bruin teams on Courts 1 and 2 had similarly inauspicious starts, as each dropped three of four games to begin matters. They pushed back, though, bringing their deficits to identical 5-4 scores with a point hanging in the balance.
USC's Court 2 pair of Jack Jaede and Laurens Verboven held serve against Bryce Pereira and Patrick Zahraj for the 6-4 win, getting the Trojans off on the right foot.
The Trojans went on to claim four of six first sets in singles play, including a tiebreaker on Court 5. They would double their overall lead on Court 6, where Jake Sands topped Eric Hahn 6-0, 6-3 in an all-freshman match.
Another freshman put on a show on Court 2, where Nanda dispatched senior Laurens Verboven in straight sets. Having recently found himself listed at No. 53 in the Oracle ITA singles rankings, Nanda topped the 23rd-ranked Verboven 6-2, 6-3 to improve to 6-2 on the dual-match season, 9-3 overall.
Zahraj jumped ahead of No. 45 Logan Smith with an early break on Court 3, but the Trojan senior recovered with six of the next eight games to take the first set. Logan Smith posted a 6-2 second set to move USC one step closer to the overall victory.
On Court 4, Riley Smith took six of seven games for a convincing first-set win against Goldberg. The UCLA junior showed resiliency in the second, though, taking his counterpart to a tiebreaker. Riley Smith would outlast Goldberg, though, sealing a 6-1, 7-6(3) personal victory and 4-1 team win.
UCLA returns to action Tuesday, Feb. 26 when Grand Canyon visits Los Angeles Tennis Center. First serve between the Bruins and Lopes is set for 2 p.m.
Tennis Match Results
UCLA vs USC
2/22/2019 at Los Angeles, CA
(Marks Tennis Stadium)
#24 USC 4, #14 UCLA 1
Singles competition
1. Maxime Cressy (UCLA) vs. #21 Brandon Holt (USC) 6-3, 3-6, 1-1, unfinished
2. #53 Govind Nanda (UCLA) def. #23 Laurens Verboven (USC) 6-2, 6-3
3. #45 Logan Smith (USC) def. Patrick Zahraj (UCLA) 6-4, 6-2
4. Riley Smith (USC) def. Ben Goldberg (UCLA) 6-1, 7-6(3)
5. Mathew Tsolakyan (UCLA) vs. Mor Bulis (USC) 6-7(6), 3-3, unfinished
6. Jake Sands (USC) def. Eric Hahn (UCLA) 6-0, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. Cressy/Nanda (UCLA) vs. #21 Holt/R. Smith (USC) 4-5, unfinished
2. Jaede/Verboven (USC) def. Pereira/Zahraj (UCLA) 6-4
3. Frye/T. Smith (USC) def. Goldberg/Rapp (UCLA) 6-2
Match Notes:
UCLA 4-4; National ranking #14
USC 7-5; National rankings #24
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (6,2,3,4)
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:
6,2,3,4
Players Mentioned
