Facing stiff competition at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s National Men’s Team Indoor Championship, No. 4 UCLA fell to the defending and eventual champion No. 5 Virginia in a hard fought quarterfinal match, losing 3-4.
In their first match of the tournament held at Chicago’s Midtown Tennis Club, the Bruins defeated the host team, No. 13 Illinois, on Friday evening. After the loss to Virginia, the team fell to No. 1 Ohio State in the consolation match on Sunday. Hosting 16 of the top tennis teams in the nation, this event represents a unique opportunity for UCLA to face the best competition in the country, often providing a preview for the eventual NCAA Championships in May.
In their match against Virginia, UCLA raced out to a lead clinching the doubles point with a win by junior Matt Brooklyn and senior Harel Srugo winning 8-4 at No. 2 doubles. When sophmore Nick Miester and senior Michael Look won 8-5 at the No. 3 spot, UCLA handed the Cavaliers their first loss of the season in doubles.
Virginia bounced back to take No. 1 and No. 6 singles, but Meister managed to tie up the match score at 2-2 with a win at No. 5, 6-2, 7-5. After a defeat at No. 3, the Bruins squared away the match again when Look won 7-5, 6-3 at on the fourth court.
Despite winning 4 of the 6 first sets, UCLA couldn’t hold on to the win, as junior Matt Brooklyn battled back and forth with Sanam Singh of Virginia, winning the first set, but dropping the next two in the decisive final match.
UCLA started the weekend off strong with a win over a tough Illinois team. The Bruins actually dropped the doubles point and the first singles match as Srugo lost to No. 23-ranked Roy Kalmanovich 0-6, 3-6. However, behind strong singles play from junior Haythem Abid, Look, and sophmore Holden Seguso, the Bruins took a 3-2 lead in the match winning at No. 1, 5 and 4.
Finally, Brooklyn clinched the match with a win at No. 2 singles. Brooklyn was able to win the final set 6-4, guaranteeing the team a spot in the quarterfinals despite dropping the second set 5-7. Feeling confident with the win, the Bruins were set to face a strong Virginia team that had made it to the semifinals four times in the past five years. In addition, the Cavaliers had won the tournament the previous year, so UCLA knew the match was going to be challenging.
After the defeat, the Bruins were set to face top-ranked OSU. The Buckeyes came out ready to play as they beat the Bruins 4-0. The doubles team of Meister and Look lost a close set 8-9 at No. 3 doubles clinching the doubles point for the Buckeyes.
In singles, Ohio State dispatched UCLA quickly as Seguso lost 0-6, 0-6 at No. 3. Followed by Meister losing 1-6, 2-6 and Abid dropping the first two sets 1-6, 2-6. Facing off against the top team in the nation capped off a long weekend tournament in which UCLA fought hard against the best tennis players in the country.