UCLA

LOS ANGELES - Despite a strong start in doubles play, the No. 19 UCLA men's tennis team was unable to hold off No. 9 USC on Thursday afternoon, as the Trojans notched a 4-2 victory over the Bruins at the Los Angeles Tennis Center. Thursday marked the final regular-season match for both teams and UCLA now heads into the postseason at 14-8 overall and 5-2 in conference action. With the win, the Trojans move to 20-4 overall and 6-1 in Pac-12 play. They will earn a share of this year's Pac-12 title if Cal defeats Stanford on Saturday.

After dropping the doubles point in a 4-1 loss to USC in March, UCLA came out firing in doubles play on Thursday. Senior Dennis Mkrtchian and freshman Austin Rapp played a near flawless match at court No. 3, downing Nick Crystal and Jonny Wang, 6-1. Joseph Di Giulio and Karue Sell would end up clinching the point at the No. 2 spot, where they downed Max de Vroome and Eric Johnson, 6-3. In a battle of top 10 teams at court No. 1, ninth-ranked Mackenzie McDonald and Martin Redlicki led USC's third-ranked Yannick Hanfmann and Roberto Quiroz, 5-3 when play was suspended.

The Trojans did not let the setback in doubles faze them, eventually winning four of six first sets in singles play. In fact, USC would post three straight-set victories to take actually take a 3-1 lead in the match. Fortunately for UCLA, McDonald was able to stop the bleeding at court No. 1, where he downed Hanfmann, 6-3, 6-3 to cut the lead to 3-2.

At the time of McDonald's win, two matches remained on court. Sell was up a set over Wang at court No. 4, and Crystal was up a set and had a sizable lead over Di Giulio at court No. 6. That's where the match would end, as Crystal notched a 6-3, 6-3 victory to seal the 4-2 win for the Trojans.

USC is the first team to defeat UCLA at home this season, as the Bruins took a perfect 12-0 record at the Los Angeles Tennis Center into Thursday's crosstown clash. The win also helps the Trojans gain five points in the SoCal BMW Crosstown Cup, an all-sports competition between the two schools. UCLA currently leads 80-55.

Next up for both UCLA and USC is the Pac-12 Championships in Ojai, Calif. That event runs from April 22-25 at Libbey Park in Downtown Ojai.

#9 USC 4, #19 UCLA 2
Apr 16, 2015 at Los Angeles, CA (Los Angeles Tennis Center)

Doubles

1. #9 McDonald/Redlicki (UCLA) vs. #3 Hanfmann/Quiroz (USC) 5-3, unfinished

2. Di Giulio/Sell (UCLA) def. de Vroome/Johnson (USC) 6-3

3. Mkrtchian/Rapp (UCLA) def. Crystal/Wang (USC) 6-1

UCLA Wins Doubles Point

Singles

1. #3 Mackenzie McDonald (UCLA) def. #12 Yannick Hanfmann (USC) 6-3, 6-3

2. Eric Johnson (USC) def. #32 Dennis Mkrtchian (UCLA) 6-3, 6-2

3. #25 Roberto Quiroz (USC) def. #102 Martin Redlicki (UCLA) 6-4, 6-1

4. Karue Sell (UCLA) vs. #36 Jonny Wang (USC) 7-6(4), 2-2, unfinished

5. #81 Max de Vroome (USC) def. Austin Rapp (UCLA) 6-1, 6-4

6. #90 Nick Crystal (USC) def. Joseph Di Giulio (UCLA) 6-3, 6-3

Match Notes

USC 20-4; 6-1 Pac-12; National ranking #9

UCLA 14-8; 5-2 Pac-12; National ranking #19

Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (2,5,3,1,6)

No. 19 Bruins Suffer 4-2 Loss to No. 9 USC