On the heels of two season-defining matches, the UCLA men’s tennis team had just one hurdle in the form of Loyola Marymount, a team the Bruins handily defeated on Tuesday at the Los Angeles Tennis Center by a score of 6-1.
The No. 13 Bruins (11-3) came out strong in doubles and made sure they weren’t complacent against the overmatched Lions (9-8). UCLA took the opening point of the match behind a strong performance on court No. 1 by the tandem of redshirt sophomore Alex Brigham and freshman Adrien Puget, who won 8-3 over LMU’s Daniel Simko and Nicholas Bjerke, as well as a gritty 8-6 win on court No. 2 from freshman Daniel Kosakowski and sophomore Warren Hardie. This marked the second straight time UCLA has won the doubles point, something which the Bruins have been unable to do in several of their key matches this year.
In singles play, the young Bruins squad was impressive and looked to finish the match quickly. Coach Billy Martin decided to start his three standout freshmen at courts 1, 2 and 3, and they all performed admirably, with each of them dominating their opponents in straight sets. Kosakowski, ranked No. 42 in the nation, made quick work of his opponent in a 6-2, 6-1 win, and Puget put in a solid performance, cruising to a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Bjerke. Clay Thompson, the third member of the trio, easily secured a point for the Bruins with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Sebastian Bustamante.
The Bruins also received an excellent performance from sophomore Maxime Tabatruong, who has struggled in recent matches, but looked on form in a 6-0, 6-0 victory over Simko.
The lone victory for the Lions came via a third set super-tiebreaker. With the match already in hand for the Bruins, LMU freshman Alex Wilton salvaged some pride for his squad by upending senior Holden Seguso, 3-6, 6-3, 1-0.
The Bruins’ dominant performance should give them some confidence heading into quite possibly their most important matches of the season, both of which will have important impact on the Pac-10 standings and NCAA seedings.
UCLA’s upcoming match against No. 12 California (8-4) will also provide the team a chance to avenge its stinging 5-2 home loss on Feb. 26. The Bruins finish the weekend by taking on No. 8 Stanford (8-3) for the first time this year.