University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
UCLA
USC
Men's Golf Advances to Finals of The Copper Cup
January 19, 2026 | Men's Golf
LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif. – The No. 21-ranked UCLA men's golf team defeated No. 24 USC on day one of the Copper Cup in Orange County to advance into the first-place match against No. 30 Arizona on Tuesday.
The Bruins concluded their 11 matches on day one with seven wins, one half and three losses (7-1-3). A halved match is worth half a point. Listed below are Monday's complete results.
UCLA's morning session featured one singles match and three alternate shot matches, while the afternoon competition featured seven singles matches. UCLA won four of the seven singles matches in the afternoon and swept all three of the morning's alternate shot matches.
Arizona defeated No. 7-ranked Arizona State in the other pairing of The Copper Cup on Monday, setting up UCLA's showdown on Tuesday with the Wildcats. Arizona won seven of eight singles matches and one of four alternate shot matches in the morning.
Match 1 – UCLA wins, 7.5 to 3.5
(USC) Antonio Safa def. (UCLA) Alex Papayoanou, 2&1
(UCLA) Logan Kim/Tyler Loree def. (USC) Kai Komulainen/Nicolas Dominguez, 2UP
(UCLA) Kyle An/Luciano Conlan def. (USC) Jaden Dumdumaya/Raghav Gulati, 2&1
(UCLA) Baylor Larrabee/Josh Kim def. (USC) Jack Buchanan/Luke Stock, 1UP
Afternoon Results
(UCLA) Trevor Garus def. (USC) Kai Komulainen, 2&1
(UCLA) Tyler Loree def. (USC) Raghav Gulati, 1UP
(USC) Nicolas Dominugez def. (UCLA) Logan Kim, 1UP
(UCLA) Kyle An def. (USC) Luke Stock, 4&3
(UCLA) Baylor Larrabee def. (USC) Antonio Safa, 3&1
(USC) Jaden Dumdumaya def. (UCLA) Josh Kim, 3&1
(UCLA) Alex Papayoanou vs. (USC) Jack Buchanan, HALF
Quotes from UCLA Head Coach Armen Kirakossian
on the team's performance on Monday, and advancing in the winner's bracket
"It was just a really fun day, especially when you're able to beat your rival school and to do it in that fashion. What stood out the most today was our guys' composure and ability to maintain their energy throughout the day. It's a long day. You're talking about 36 holes. You have two different formats, playing with alternate shot in the morning and singles matches in the afternoon. Any time that you go head-to-head with an opponent, there is ego and pride on the line.
"I'm proud of the way our guys competed during the entire day. They stuck to our gameplan and our keys, and they played some really exceptional golf, especially in the afternoon. Honestly, we were a little sloppy in the alternate shot and we pulled out some matches late. That helps us build some momentum into the afternoon, and then we had some exceptional performances.
"Kyle An had a really low round in his match and he ended up winning four and three. Alex Papayoanou played an exceptional match against a really difficult opponent who pulled out from off the green three times, and Alex was able to stay in that match and have a chance at the end, and the halving it. Proud of him for that. But you have moments when you're in match play because you can't play defense in golf, so you are just at the whim of your opponent sometimes. Alex weathered that very well. I'm really proud of him. It's a super fun event and our guys are fired up to have an opportunity to win the trophy tomorrow and we'll be going up against a very formidable team in Arizona, who just beat a powerhouse in Arizona State. Arizona has a really great team. It's going to be a tough one for us, but we are looking forward to the challenge."
Players Mentioned
