The No. 5 UCLA men’s tennis team returned from one of its biggest road trips with a pair of close victories over Arizona and No. 18 Arizona State.
The Bruins (19-1, 6-0 Pac-10) relied once again on their No. 1 player when their match against the Sun Devils came down to the top court with the overall score of the dual match even at 3-3.
Harel Srugo was taken into a third set by ASU’s Matt Brooklyn, who came back to win the second set after losing the first.
Just as he has done for UCLA in the past several months, the transfer from Old Dominion came through in the clutch and edged out Brooklyn 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 to help the Bruins set up a Friday matchup with USC that will determine this season’s Pac-10 champion.
The scenario is one that occurred last season as well when the Bruins and Trojans faced off at the Los Angeles Tennis Center to play for the conference title, which was clinched by former Bruin Benjamin Kohlloeffel with his win on the top court.
On Saturday, UCLA was able to jump ahead of ASU by capturing the doubles point, which they failed to do on Friday afternoon against the Wildcats when they dug themselves into a hole that they were eventually able to emerge from.
After losing the doubles point against Arizona, freshman Holden Seguso lost a 4-0 lead in the first set, eventually losing 7-5, 6-1 to Andres Carrasco, putting the Bruins behind by a 2-0 score.
After wins from junior Michael Look, senior Mathieu Dehaine, and Srugo, the Bruins regained the lead 3-2, and needed a win from either senior Jeremy Drean or freshman Nick Meister, both of whom prevailed in three-set matches. Meister won two straight sets to clinch the win for UCLA.
The Bruins look to extend their winning streak to 14 games against UC Irvine on Wednesday before traveling across town to USC where they will be aiming to capture their fifth consecutive Pac-10 title.
WOMEN’S TENNIS: The No. 7 UCLA women’s tennis team had a much easier time this weekend against the Arizona schools, capturing two 7-0 shutouts at home.
The Bruins (17-5, 6-1 Pac-10) are getting closer and closer to winning the school’s first-ever Pac-10 championship.
If UCLA is able to hold off the Women of Troy on Friday afternoon at the Los Angeles Tennis Center, the Bruins will set themselves up for at least a share of the Pac-10 title.
For coach Stella Sampras Webster and her Bruin squad, things are finally beginning to take shape as the team is beginning to fight off injuries and players are returning to the lineup, and it couldn’t have come at a more pivotal time.
Although junior Ashley Joelson didn’t play over the weekend, the Bruins saw the return of sophomore Yasmin Schnack who had been battling an injury for much of the season.
Senior Alex McGoodwin also continues to be a powerful force on the bottom courts after returning to the lineup just three dual matches ago. McGoodwin has gone undefeated since her return.
As the Bruins prepare for the Women of Troy this week, they look back to their earlier win over USC this season, when they dominated in a 6-1 blowout at Marks Tennis Stadium.