The Bruins’ season is over.
No. 11 seed UCLA men’s tennis (19-6, 8-0 Pac-12) fell to No. 6 seed Baylor (25-5, 3-2 Big 12) 4-1 on Friday to end its opportunity at the 2019 NCAA championship. The Bruins’ super regional loss ended its team season four match wins short of a title.
UCLA could not repeat last season’s performance, when it reached the semifinals as the No. 2 seed. But, coach Billy Martin said he was proud of what his team had accomplished this season..
“I’m not happy about getting to the round of 16,” Martin said. “But, I’m definitely proud of what this team accomplished this year. It’s by no means what we strive for, but given the circumstances, I think the team has done an incredible job.”
The match began with the Bruins dropping the doubles point to the Bears with losses at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles. Freshman Patrick Zahraj and sophomore Bryce Pereira fell 6-3 at No. 3, and freshman Govind Nanda and redshirt sophomore Connor Rapp lost 6-4 minutes later.
“We got unlucky in my first service game. A few calls didn’t go our way,” Pereira said. “(Zahraj) and I did well to turn the match around, but they were a solid team and we came up a little bit short.”
Doubles have been an inconsistent scoring opportunity for the Bruins this season. After starting 4-5 on the season, the Bruins reeled off nine straight doubles points before they ended the season with a 4-3 stretch. Martin said the team worked to improve their doubles all year and ultimately fell short against a strong opponent.
“By no means did we play badly today,” Martin said. “We always have confidence in our No. 1 doubles to get a victory, and their match ended with three match points on (sophomore) Keegan (Smith’s) serve. On the other courts, they got off to strong starts, and then a break at No. 2 and they held, and that’s the match.”
In singles, junior Ben Goldberg lost to No. 76 Sven Lah, followed by Nanda falling to No. 112 Adrian Boitan to put the Bruins down 3-0. After fighting back from a set down to force a third, freshman Roscoe Bellamy dropped his match 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 for Baylor’s clinching point.
“After all of the first sets, they were up big on five of the six courts,” Goldberg said. “But we all fought back in the second sets and all of our players had a lead in the second. We had our looks today, but they had a lot of strong players.”
The crowds of Baylor fans were boisterous throughout the matches and Pereira said it didn’t dishearten the UCLA players much but boosted the Baylor players throughout the match.
“The crowd was really rowdy today,” Pereira said. “They were on our backs from the start. It seemed to really fuel the Baylor guys, but I don’t think it affected ours too much.”
Senior Maxime Cressy ended his UCLA dual-match career Friday. He claimed the lone Bruin point in the match, courtesy of a 6-4, 6-1 victory over No. 20 Johannes Schretter. Goldberg said Cressy’s growth and leadership during all four years made him a great Bruin.
“He’s put in so much work over the years,” Goldberg said. “He’s worked on getting better mentally, and his game has grown. Having a guy like that who can win so many matches at No. 1 singles and go undefeated in doubles is so valuable. (Cressy) was a great player and teammate.”
Cressy’s doubles matchup with partner sophomore Keegan Smith pitted the No. 1 doubles team in the country from Baylor against the No. 2 undefeated UCLA duo. The match ended unfinished at 5-4, 40-0 with Smith serving. The duos will have a chance to continue competition when it participates in the NCAA doubles championship later this month in Orlando, Florida.
Martin said Cressy’s college career came to a close after four years of contributing to the team and after recording an impressive senior year.
“He’s had an incredible career and an incredible senior year,” Martin said. “He’s one of the best doubles players I’ve ever coached at UCLA. He’s been a help to the team since day one, and he really is the definition of an athlete – that won’t be denied.”
After Friday’s win, Baylor will travel to Orlando to compete in the quarterfinals of the NCAA championships. With UCLA’s dual-match season over, Cressy and Smith both will compete in the NCAA singles and doubles championships.