Friday, April 5
Los Angeles, CA
3:30 PM
USC
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at
4
UCLA
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/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
Photo by: John McGillen
No. 9 USC Men Edged Out 4-3 By No. 13 UCLA
April 05, 2019 | Men's Tennis, Features
Trojans take a road loss to the Bruins in an intense affair in Westwood.
WESTWOOD, CALIF. — The No. 9 USC men's tennis team was edged out in a wild Pac-12 matchup in Westwood, falling 4-3 to crosstown rival No. 13 UCLA today at the Los Angeles Tennis Center. The Bruins had snagged the doubles point, but USC would move out ahead with singles wins from Mor Bulis and Laurens Verboven. The tug-of-war continued, and the match evened up twice more to bring up the decider on court four. There, and intense third-set tiebreaker ensued, with UCLA pulling off the clincher to net the win. USC goes to 13-7 overall and to 3-1 in Pac-12 play with the loss.
UCLA grabbed the early advantage with doubles wins on courts one and two. At the No. 2 spot, Bruins Nanda/Rapp topped USC's Jack Jaede and Laurens Verboven with a 6-3 decision. Then, the Bruins notched a 1-0 lead in the match when #6 Cressy/Smith posted a 6-4 win over USC's #14 Brandon Holt and Riley Smith, suspending a tight battle on court three.
In singles, the Trojans fired back with a straight-set win by Mor Bulis on court six. The USC newcomer took down UCLA's Mathew Tsolakyan 7-6 (2), 6-1 to level things at 1-1. Next, senior #23 Verboven drilled out a 6-3, 6-4 win over UCLA's #46 Govind Nanda, and the Trojans were up on their hosts 2-1. The Bruins would respond and snarl it back up next, however, with #49 Keegan Smith beating USC's #13 Daniel Cukierman 7-6 (4), 6-3 on court two. At the top spot, USC's #11 Holt edged the Trojans back ahead 3-2 with his 6-2, 7-6 (2) victory over UCLA's #21 Maxime Cressy. That left a couple three-setters raging, and the Bruins would pull even once again with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 win by Ben Goldberg over USC's #74 Logan Smith. From there, all eyes turned to an all-out battle on court four. There, UCLA's Patrick Zahraj had claimed the first set in a tiebreaker, only to see USC's Riley Smith tally a 7-5 win in the second. In the third, the rivals stayed toe-to-toe and another tiebreaker — the fifth of the day — ensued. In the breaker, Zahraj and Smith stretched things to a 7-7 lockup before Zahraj was able to knock out the final two points to clinch the victory for the Bruins on a 7-6 (4), 5-7, 7-6 (7) decision.
The Trojans next return to Marks Stadium after eight straight matches on the road. Next week, USC hosts Washington at 3 p.m. on Friday (April 12) and then Oregon at 1 p.m. on Saturday (April 13) in more Pac-12 action.
#13 UCLA 4, #9 USC 3
April 5, 2019 | Westwood, Calif.
DOUBLES
(1) #6 Cressy/Smith (UCLA) def. #14 Holt/R. Smith (USC) - 6-4
(2) Nanda/Rapp (UCLA) def. Jaede/Verboven (USC) - 6-3
(3) Pereira/Zahraj (UCLA) vs. Cukierman/T. Smith (USC) - 5-5 susp.
Order of finish: 2, 1
UCLA wins doubles point.
SINGLES
(1) #11 Brandon Holt (USC) def. #21 Maxime Cressy (UCLA) - 6-2, 7-6 (2)
(2) #49 Keegan Smith (UCLA) def. #13 Daniel Cukierman (USC) - 7-6 (4), 6-3
(3) #23 Laurens Verboven (USC) def. #46 Govind Nanda (UCLA) - 6-3, 6-4
(4) Patrick Zahraj (UCLA) def. Riley Smith (USC) - 7-6 (4), 5-7, 7-6 (7)*
(5) Ben Goldberg (UCLA) def. #74 Logan Smith (USC) - 7-5, 3-6, 6-3
(6) Mor Bulis (USC) def. Mathew Tsolakyan (UCLA) - 7-6 (2), 6-1
Order of finish: 6, 3, 2, 1, 5, 4*
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