It was the largest crowd UCLA had all year. It was loud, rowdy and tried to get the Trojans off their game.
And while it helped in doubles, the crowd wasn’t enough to carry No. 19 UCLA (14-8, 5-2 Pac-12) to victory over No. 9 USC (20-4, 6-1). They came up short 4-2, a slight improvement to the crosstown rivals’ last meeting.
When the Bruins lost last time, they said the difference between winning and losing was the doubles point. Coach Billy Martin said he felt that if they won the doubles that time, they might have had a shot at winning.
So after focusing on doubles more than usual this week, UCLA came out routing USC and taking the first point.
“Me and (freshman Austin) Rapp have been playing good, solid doubles,” said senior Dennis Mkrtchian. “I think we have found our identity as a doubles team. I think we have had a pretty solid year. We are becoming a better doubles team.”
The doubles team of Rapp and Mkrtchian played the best doubles they have played all year, winning their match 6-1 – a vast improvement from their last meeting against the Trojans where they lost 3-6.
With the early lead, it initially appeared that winning the doubles point might have actually have been the difference between winning and losing. However, USC responded with a great day out on courts two and three.
Mkrtchian, playing No. 2 singles, dropped his match in straight sets 6-3, 6-2 to Eric Johnson.
“It was fun. We had a great crowd. It was a good day of tennis and I am sad I wasn’t able to win my last regular season match,” Mkrtchian said. “That’s tennis. That’s sports. It doesn’t always go the way you want it to go.”
Not too long after Mkrtchian fell, freshman Martin Redlicki also lost in straight sets against Roberto Quiroz 6-4,6-1.
“I thought (Quiroz) picked up a bit in the second set. He was hitting his shots a little better, wasn’t getting as many unforced errors. He seemed to (be) becoming more comfortable in how to play Redlicki,” Martin said. “A lot of the times when you play someone for the first time, you’re just not sure. It seemed like (Quiroz) did a better job adapting as the match went on.”
USC’s remaining two points came from courts five and six, which Martin said he knew would be the hardest matches to win.
UCLA’s only singles win came from the nation’s No. 3 player, sophomore Mackenzie McDonald. He won in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3.
With their regular season now over, the Bruins look to their next challenge, the Pac-12 tournament. With the loss against the USC, UCLA will now enter the tournament as the No. 3 seed, meaning they will now have to play a quarterfinal dual match next Thursday. A win in the quarterfinal would mean the Bruins would get one more shot at the Trojans, a matchup the Bruins already seem to be expecting.
In this matchup, the Bruins think they can beat the Trojans at courts two and three.
“I would definitely rather have (Mkrtchian) play Quiroz and I play Johnson. I think that is a better matchup for the both of us,” Redlicki said. “It’s gonna be a mind game because Dennis and I both play two and three, Quiroz and Johnson both play two and three, so it is just going to be a 50-50 shot where we both play.”
Martin said picking the right combination will be the key to upsetting the Trojans in a potential Pac-12 championship rematch.
“It will become a guessing game. … (USC coach Peter Smith) knows the matchups I want and I know the matchups he wants,” Martin said. “When you see the lineups, you’ll know who won the guessing game.”