No. 18 Men's Tennis Tops Utah, 6-1, in Pac-12 Opener

LOS ANGELES – The No. 18 UCLA men's tennis team bounced back from a lost doubles point and two rain delays to defeat Utah, 6-1, in the teams' Pac-12 opener at Los Angeles Tennis Center.

Sam Feit clinched the victory for the Bruins, who improved to 5-2 (1-0 in Pac-12 play). Mathew Tsolakyan, Keegan Smith and Roscoe Bellamy also contributed to UCLA's first four points with straight-set wins. Drew Baird and Ben Goldberg each prevailed in three sets to complete the singles sweep. The Utes dropped to 10-5 (0-1 Pac-12).

The match was delayed 30 minutes by rain, but Utah proved largely unfazed in doubles play. The Bruins picked up the first win of the day on Court 2, where Baird and Feit topped Luis Flores and Bruno Krenn by a 6-2 score. The Utes quickly answered on the top court, as Francisco Bastias and Slava Shainyan handed Smith and Max Wild a 6-2 loss to even it up. Geronimo Busleiman and Chris Heck broke the tie on Court 3, doubling up Bellamy and Bryce Pereira to give Utah the first lead of the day.

A second delay of approximately one hour and 30 minutes came midway through the first sets. UCLA established momentum before the delay and picked up where they left off by eventually taking five of six opening frames.

Playing in his first match since Feb. 24, Tsolakyan took care of Heck on Court 5 to tie the score. The 6-4, 6-2 win kept Tsolakyan's singles record unblemished at 5-0. Next off was No. 10 Smith, who edged out Shainyan in a first-set tiebreaker before rolling to a 7-6(5), 6-2 victory on the top court. Seconds later, Bellamy dispatched of Flores on Court 6, 6-3, 6-2.

Krenn nearly forced a third set on Court 4, but Feit ultimately triumphed in a back-and-forth second-set tiebreaker to post the deciding point. The 6-3, 7-6(7) decision represents Feit's third win in four matches.

Baird recovered from a lost first set to force a deciding 10-point tiebreaker against Busleiman on Court 2. That proved a marathon set, as Baird eked out a 5-7, 6-4, 1-0(14) victory. Goldberg, who played a full third set with Bastias, concluded the match with a 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 win on Court 3.

The Bruins return to action Monday, March 22, when they welcome Stanford to Los Angeles Tennis Center for a non-conference match. First serve is scheduled for 1 p.m., PT.

Tennis Match Results
Utah vs UCLA
3/12/2021 at Los Angeles, CA
(Los Angeles Tennis Center)

#18 UCLA 6, Utah 1

Singles competition
1. #10 Keegan Smith (UCLA) def. Slava Shainyan (UTAH) 7-6 (7-5), 6-2
2. Drew Baird (UCLA) def. Geronimo Busleiman (UTAH) 5-7, 6-4, 1-0 (16-14)
3. Ben Goldberg (UCLA) def. Francisco Bastias (UTAH) 6-1, 2-6, 6-4
4. #109 Sam Feit (UCLA) def. Bruno Krenn (UTAH) 6-3, 7-6 (9-7)
5. Mathew Tsolakyan (UCLA) def. Chris Heck (UTAH) 6-4, 6-2
6. Roscoe Bellamy (UCLA) def. Luis Flores (UTAH) 6-3, 6-2

Doubles competition
1. Francisco Bastias/Slava Shainyan (UTAH) def. Keegan Smith/Max Wild (UCLA) 6-2
2. Drew Baird/Sam Feit (UCLA) def. Luis Flores/Bruno Krenn (UTAH) 6-2
3. Geronimo Busleiman/Chris Heck (UTAH) def. Roscoe Bellamy/Bryce Pereira (UCLA) 6-3

Match Notes:
Utah 10-5
UCLA 5-2; National ranking #18
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (5,1,6,4,2,3)