No. 2 Bruins Notch 4-0 Victory Over Texas Tech
LOS ANGELES - The No. 2 UCLA men's tennis team earned the right to play in next month's USTA/ITA National Team Indoor Championships on Sunday afternoon after posting a 4-0 shutout over Texas Tech during ITA Kick-Off Weekend at the Los Angeles Tennis Center. The Bruins went 2-0 during the weekend, also registering a 4-0 victory over Wisconsin in Saturday's first round.
UCLA got off to somewhat of a slow start on Sunday, suffering a 6-2 loss at court No. 3 to begin doubles play. Fortunately, the Bruins rebounded on the top two courts, eventually clinching the doubles point at the No. 1 position, where 10th-ranked Marcos Giron and Mackenzie McDonald downed 33rd-ranked Hugo Dojas and Maxime Hinnisdaels, 6-3.
After taking four of six first sets in singles action, the Bruins would take a 2-0 lead in the match when McDonald, who is ranked 62nd nationally, posted a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Hinnisdaels at court No. 3. Another straight-set victory would soon follow at court No. 1, where the 11th-ranked Giron downed No. 101 Felipe Soares, 6-2, 6-3.
At the point of Giron's victory, three of the four remaining matches were extremely close. The only match were UCLA owned a decisive advantage was at court No. 5, where Dennis Mkrtchian was up a set and 4-2 over Francisco Zambon. Mkrtchian would take the final two games of the match, eventually winning 6-4, 6-2 to give UCLA the 4-0 win.
At the time of suspension, top-ranked Clay Thompson had just split sets with Dojas at court No. 2. Gage Brymer was up a break in the third set against Johann Willems, and Joseph Di Giulio was up 4-2 after dropping the first set against Jolan Cailleau at court No. 6.
UCLA returns to action next week, facing No. 14 Florida on Saturday and No. 3 Georgia on Sunday as part of the Pac-12/SEC Challenge. Both matches will take place across town at USC's Marks Tennis Stadium and will begin each day at 10:00 a.m.
ITA KICK-OFF WEEKEND
#2 UCLA 4, #53 Texas Tech 0
Jan 26, 2014 at Los Angeles, CA (Los Angeles Tennis Center)
| Singles |
| 1. #10 Giron/McDonald (UCLA) def. #33 Dojas/Hinnisdaels (TTU) 6-3 |
| 2. Di Giulio/Thompson (UCLA) def. Soares/Willems (TTU) 6-4 |
| 3. Carlos DiLaura/Francisco Zambon (TTU) def. Brymer/Mkrtchian (UCLA) 6-2 |
UCLA Wins Doubles Point
| Singles |
| 1. #11 Marcos Giron (UCLA) def. #101 Felipe Soares (TTU) 6-2, 6-3 |
| 2. #1 Clay Thompson (UCLA) vs. #65 Hugo Dojas (TTU) 6-4, 3-6, unfinished |
| 3. #62 Mackenzie McDonald (UCLA) def. Maxime Hinnisdaels (TTU) 6-2, 6-3 |
| 4. #120 Gage Brymer (UCLA) vs. Johann Willems (TTU) 3-6, 6-2, 2-0, unfinished |
| 5. Dennis Mkrtchian (UCLA) def. Francisco Zambon (TTU) 6-4, 6-2 |
| 6. Joseph Di Giulio (UCLA) vs. Jolan Cailleau (TTU) 4-6, 4-2, unfinished |
| Match Notes |
| Texas Tech 2-1; National ranking #53 |
| UCLA 3-0; National ranking #2 |
| Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (3,1,5) |
| UCLA advances to USTA/ITA National Team Indoors, Feb. 14-17 in Houston, Texas |