UCLA freshmen Eugen Brazdil and Carling Seguso stood out at the Pac-10 Tennis Championship Tournament. Both the men’s and women’s teams traveled to Ojai this weekend to compete in the individual event.
Although the tournament does not affect the teams’ season records, it gives the conference’s players a chance to compete for themselves in several different draws for both singles and doubles.
Seguso won the Women’s Invitational Singles draw, an event for players not selected for the Pac-10 Championship bracket, winning 10 straight sets en route to a finals victory over California’s Marion Ravelojaona, 6-2, 7-5. Sophomore Maya Johansson and senior Anna-Viktoria Lind added to the Bruins’ hardware by winning the invitational doubles draw.
The Bruin women in the championship draw did not fare as well however, with three of the four players invited losing in the first two rounds. The only UCLA player to make it to the quaterfinals was junior Yasmin Schnack, who lost to Arizona State’s Michelle Brycki in a third set.
On the men’s side, Brazdil, normally the second alternate for the team’s starting six, made a run to the finals of the Men’s Invitational Singles draw. The Bruin freshman from Slovakia beat No. 1-seed Gregory Hirshman from Stanford, 7-6(4), 6-4, in the semifinals before losing in Sunday’s final round to USC’s Daniel Nguyen.
Brazdil also got the nod to play with teammate Michael Look in the Men’s Championship Doubles draw, in which the duo surprised many by beating three other pairs to reach the final round before losing to Stanford’s Bradley Klahn and Ryan Thacher in a third-set tiebreaker, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(2).
Sophomore Nick Meister was originally scheduled to play with Look, but was pulled from the lineup due to sickness.
The Bruin men were also without redshirt junior Haythem Abid and senior Harel Srugo, who sat out the weekend due to injuries. Of the five Bruin men still playing in the championship singles draw, only Look and junior Matt Brooklyn made it to the quarterfinals.
Both UCLA squads will return to the courts as teams in two weeks, when they are expected to host the NCAA Regionals at the Los Angeles Tennis Center. The NCAA Tournament’s seedings will be announced on Tuesday’s NCAA selection show on ESPNews.
Compiled by Eli Smukler, Bruin Sports senior staff.