Men’s tennis’ losing streak extends to 3 after falling to USC

The Bruins have lost three matches in the span of a week.

No. 14 UCLA men’s tennis (4-4) fell to its crosstown rival No. 24 USC (7-5) by a score of 4-1 at Marks Tennis Stadium on Friday afternoon. The Bruins lost their two previous matches to then-No. 1 Wake Forest and then-No. 15 Texas Christian last weekend in Chicago at the Oracle ITA Division I National Men’s Team Indoor Championship.

“We had quite a few opportunities,” said coach Billy Martin. “We let those slip away, and you can’t against good teams. You have to take advantage of them. You don’t get a lot of (opportunities) against good teams.”

Freshman Govind Nanda, who is ranked No. 53 in singles, filled the vacant spot in the No. 1 doubles team left by the injured sophomore Keegan Smith. Nanda and senior Maxime Cressy faced the Trojan pair Brandon Holt and Riley Smith, who is ranked No. 21 in doubles. The match was left unfinished with the Bruins trailing 5-4.

“We got off to a slow start,” Nanda said. “The conditions were tough out here, it was a little windy. I didn’t put enough first serves into the box, and I shouldn’t have gotten broken.”

The team of junior Ben Goldberg and redshirt sophomore Connor Rapp filled the No. 3 doubles spot for the Bruins. The duo fell to the pair of Bradley Frye and Tanner Smith by a score of 6-2.

“Our start wasn’t slow at all,” Goldberg said. “Both service games we had deuce points that were break points, and if we (can hold), get the 30-40 point and break serve, we’re running with it. We got bad luck, they hit big serves, but we’re super close. If we get that one point, it’s different.”

The Bruins would drop the doubles point after another loss at No. 2 doubles and trailed the Trojans 1-0 going into singles play.

In the No. 6 singles spot, freshman Eric Hahn found himself trailing USC’s Jake Sands, losing his first set 6-0. Hahn would then be defeated in his second set with a score of 6-3.

Martin said young players, like Hahn, need to take advantage of the opportunities they are given in the starting lineup.

“Hahn was a little bit ‘deer in the headlights’,” Martin said. “First ‘SC match at USC, he was not himself at all. It was very low-quality of what he is capable of.”

Freshman Patrick Zahraj took on USC’s Logan Smith, who is ranked No. 45 in singles on the No. 3 court. Zahraj was unsuccessful in fighting off a set point on deuce at 4-5, giving the Trojans a first set victory. Zahraj would be defeated 6-4, 6-2.

Goldberg faced off against Riley Smith in the No. 4 singles spot. Goldberg found himself down one set, losing the first set 6-1, but bounced back in the second and forced a tiebreak at 6-6. Smith quickly went ahead by four points in the tiebreak and would eventually emerge victorious, 6-1, 7-6 (3). Goldberg’s loss sealed the match for USC.

Goldberg said, despite the defeat, he was happy with how he fought during the match.

“(Riley Smith started the tiebreak) with three good points,” Goldberg said. “But during the second set, I had two set points, both deuce points. He hit aces both times. Bad luck again.”

Nanda was the only Bruin to emerge victorious on the day, defeating Laurens Verboven, who is ranked No. 23 in singles, 6-2, 6-3.

“We have to learn from this experience and just move forward,” Hahn said.

The Bruins will continue nonconference play with a match against Grand Canyon at the Los Angeles Tennis Center on Tuesday.

 

Women’s basketball overcomes 22-point deficit to defeat No. 2 Oregon

The Bruins defeated a top-two team for the first time in 11 years.

UCLA women’s basketball (17-10, 10-5 Pac-12) stunned No. 2 Oregon (24-3, 13-2) with a 74-69 victory on the road after overcoming a 22-point first-half deficit. The last time the Bruins knocked off a No. 2 team was when they beat No. 2 Stanford 69-56 in 2008.

“This win means everything to me,” said senior guard Japreece Dean. “It means everything to me because I know it means everything to my teammates. We’re just happy.”

Senior guard Kennedy Burke carried the Bruins in scoring, posting a career-high 29 points on the night.

“(Burke) stepped up into that role and we fed off of her aggressiveness,” Dean said. “She’s a big-time player and she made some big-time plays.”

Burke went 12-of-17 on the game, including 2-of-3 from behind the arc to go along with the eight rebounds. The guard put up nine of the Bruins’ 21 third-quarter points to propel the comeback and eventually secure the victory.

After the Bruins got outrebounded by 18 in UCLA’s 72-52 loss to Oregon on Jan. 13, Burke said rebounding and boxing out in the second half was the difference Friday night.

“(Coach Cori Close) said if we outrebound them by one or two, we win the game,” Burke said. “And that’s what happened – we outrebounded them by one and it was a game-changer.”

In the first half, Oregon shot 53.1 percent from the field and strung together a 10-0 run in the second quarter to take a 40-18 lead, even without injured forward Ruthy Hebard – who averages 16.4 points and 8.9 rebounds for the Ducks.

“Oregon with (Hebard) or without (Hebard) is probably still the best offensive team in the nation,” said assistant coach Tony Newnan. “They are very difficult to guard. They were in a flow and a rhythm and we weren’t.”

Ducks forwards Erin Boley and Satou Sabally led Oregon in scoring in the first half with 13 and eight points, respectively.

“(Boley) and (Sabally) did a good job using screens and we just didn’t communicate that well,” Burke said. “They were able to do whatever they want because we didn’t compete on the defensive end. But that changed once we hit the second half.”

UCLA limited the two to just seven combined second-half points. A 3-pointer by redshirt freshman guard Lindsey Corsaro midway through the third period cut the Bruins’ deficit to 10 points for the first time since the first quarter.

UCLA outscored Oregon 21-11 in the third period to put the score at 53-48 going into the final quarter of play.

“We found a way just to keep chipping away,” Newnan said. “We found a way to get the ball inside a little bit, and (Burke) was a tough force on the penetrations. Everybody found a way to step up.”

The Bruins continued their surge in the fourth quarter. A pair of free throws by sophomore forward Michaela Onyenwere with 7:06 left in the game gave the Bruins their first lead since leading 5-4 in the first quarter, and a lead they held for the rest of the contest.

The Bruins handed the Ducks their first home loss of the season after falling 3-0 against them last year. Despite this being the Bruins’ biggest win of the season, Newnan said that the team has to focus on the next game.

“I think come the end of the season, and the end of the Pac-12 tournament we will be able to look back and celebrate this,” Newnan said. “But we told the team in the locker room (that when) we walk off the bus, it’s over with. We are focused on Oregon State and going to get the next one.”

UCLA will have the opportunity to take down another ranked opponent when it faces No.12 Oregon State (22-5, 12-3) on Sunday.

Power outages occur in apartments throughout Westwood

Apartments across Westwood lost power Friday evening.

Apartments south of Ophir Drive and north of Wilshire Boulevard, and those between Veteran Avenue and Levering Avenue lost power around 7 p.m., a Los Angeles Department of Water and Power spokesperson said. Power is expected to return by 11 p.m. Two thousand LADWP customers were affected by the outage, she said.

Divya Devineni, a third-year anthropology student, said she was studying for the MCAT in her apartment on Glenrock Avenue when the power shut off.

“I’m furious. I was in the middle of doing school work – it’s week seven,” she said. “Everything is online so I can’t do anything.”

The LADWP spokesperson said she did not have information on the cause of the outage.

Men’s volleyball prepares to defend top MPSF rank in competitive rivalry games

An undefeated conference record will be on the line in the Bruins’ next two games.

No. 6 UCLA men’s volleyball (11-4, 3-0 MPSF) will face crosstown rival No. 14 USC (7-6, 1-2) on Sunday in Pauley Pavilion.

Coach John Speraw said this season’s USC team is stronger than last season’s.

“I know for sure it’s going to be a hard-fought match,” Speraw said. “USC is significantly better than last year and so we know we’re in for a real battle.”

USC has come within one win of its win total from last season, posting seven wins so far this season.

The Trojans are led by outside hitters Jack Wyett and Ryan Moss, who lead their team with 151 and 148 kills, respectively. USC is also the only team to claim a set off undefeated reigning champion, No. 1 Long Beach State.

Junior outside hitter Austin Matautia said USC will bring higher levels of intensity due to the nature of a rivalry game.

“I’d expect it to be a pretty high-energy game, knowing that we’re playing USC,” Matautia said. “They’re going to come out pretty pumped up so we have to make sure we play our own game. Just focus on one-point volleyball, and even if we’re down, just know that we have the capability of coming back and winning.”

UCLA will remain at home after the rivalry game to face No. 4 Pepperdine (10-2, 3-0 MPSF) on Wednesday in a game that could impact postseason seedings.

Pepperdine and UCLA are tied for first in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation conference, both with unblemished conference records. Speraw said the match could help the Bruins solidify their standing in the conference.

“Now that our conference is significantly smaller than it was a few years ago, I feel like (every team) matters,” Speraw said. “You get a loss and there’s just not a lot of opportunities to make up ground on teams. These are all big matches, every single one of them.”

Redshirt junior opposite Brandon Rattray said the Pepperdine game is a must-win for UCLA.

“We (have) got to win out,” Rattray said. “We (have) got to win the conference, so it is a very important match.”

Pepperdine is currently on a five-game win streak. Two of the Waves’ outside hitters – David Wieczorek and Michael Wexter – recorded 17 and 19 kills, respectively, in their most recent win against Grand Canyon. The duo hit for .238 and .325, respectively. Rattray said he is looking forward to playing the matches at home.

“I’m really excited playing USC on Sunday and Pepperdine on Wednesday,” Rattray said. “It’s a good lineup, a good couple of games we’ve got here, back to back. We’re going to go out there and take it to them.”

Even with Trojans’ recent troubles, men’s tennis doesn’t take USC lightly

Friday holds a big match for the Bruins. UCLA versus USC in the battle for Los Angeles.

No. 14 UCLA men’s tennis (4-3) will take on No. 24 USC (6-5) at Marks Stadium on Friday. This will be the first time the two teams face off this season.

USC has lost five of its last six matches, dropping from its highest ranking of No. 5 early in the season down to No. 24 after the ITA Indoor Championship this past weekend. Coach Billy Martin said the team knows it cannot take this match lightly.

“It’s going to be a tough one for (us) because they’re a very good team,” Martin said. “I’ve been surprised by their results at the beginning of the season. I expected them to be one of the top teams in the country.”

UCLA will enter the match hobbled by injuries. Sophomores Connor Hance and Keegan Smith are usually at courts five and two in the singles lineup , but are both out for the match. Martin said there isn’t a specific timeline for either player’s return.

“(Hance’s) injury is more serious, we have to wait for a doctor to tell us he’s ready to play,” Martin said. “(Smith) will be fine, but I’m still not going to rush either of them. If you jump the gun too soon he might go out there and really hurt himself and be out for an extended amount of time.”

These absences in the lineup have created holes for other Bruins to fill. Because of Smith’s absence from singles, freshmen like Govind Nanda and Patrick Zahraj are playing higher than their normal positions.

However, Zahraj said that the different positions don’t change how he or the team plays.

“The court is different,” Zahraj said. “We need to do our best as a team, everyone moves up, and we play our tennis.”

Zahraj also said he recognized the tough road for his teammates coming back from an injury.

“(Smith) sprained his ankle, like I did about two months ago, so I know what he has to go through,” Zahraj said. “I still don’t feel like I’ve found my game after my ankle injury.”

Due to both Smith and Hance’s absence from singles, freshman Eric Hahn saw his first dual match action of the season at the ITA Indoors.

Hahn, a Southern California native, said he grew up with the UCLA-USC rivalry and can’t wait to be a part of it.

“It means a lot to me to play against them,” Hahn said. “It’s going to be a lot of fun. It’s probably one of the most classic rivalries in sports.”

Week seven: UC budget transparency incomplete, USAC votes to support The Agora, Oscars

This Week in the News serves as The Quad’s space for reflection on current events at and around UCLA. Every week, Daily Bruin staffers will analyze some of the most significant stories to keep readers up to speed.

The weather is finally clearing after a long couple weeks of consistent rainstorms as week seven comes to a close. Several stories have come to the forefront of our attention this week, including the upcoming Academy Awards and the unanimous Undergraduate Students Association Council vote for The Agora – here are The Quad’s picks for stories this week.

Broxton Brewery begins brewing in-house beer with support from Westwood councils

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(Tanmay Shankar/Daily Bruin)

Broxton Brewery in Westwood Village began brewing its own beer Feb. 9, pioneering one of the many changes that have followed the installation of a new neighborhood council last year.

However, this process was both strenuous and multifaceted in its legal and infrastructural implications.

In addition to obtaining a liquor license, Conditional Use Permit and negotiating the license’s terms with several neighborhood councils and groups, Broxton worked with civil engineers to ensure the seven-barrel brewing system could be safely installed within the building’s infrastructural foundations.

In the past, the Westwood Neighborhood Council did not allow for pitchers, happy hour, live entertainment, dancing or pool tables. Due to this, Westwood businesses like Rocco’s Tavern and Broxton were initially met with high scrutiny and stifled potential.

However, the brewery’s recent success highlights tangible progress toward some of the goals the new North Westwood Neighborhood Council had advocated for, including boosting economic activity and nightlife in the Village.

State auditor finds financial transparency recommendations for UC remain incomplete

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(Kristie-Valerie Hoang/Daily Bruin senior staff)

According to a new state audit report in January, the University of California has not applied the appropriate changes in response to the 2017 state audit request for increased budget transparency.

The California State Auditor’s office has stated only 12 of the 33 recommendations that CSA Elaine Howle detailed were fully implemented, in disagreement with the 16 implementations the UC Office of the President’s report claimed to have been fulfilled.

These recommendations address issues such as budgetary transparency and reserve policies pertaining to money reallocation toward campuses.

While one side of the debate argues financial transparency is important because it supports a system for holding the UC accountable, it is also being noted by Ozan Jaquette, an assistant professor of higher education, that the UC may not be disclosing reserves in an attempt to raise state funding, which is decreasing.

According to a report from the CSA’s office, fulfilling the presented recommendations would help UCOP to receive increased state funding. Conversely, Jaquette believes the state should raise UC funding to be able to exercise this control over UC policies.

USAC votes in support of The Agora, citing potential to bring down housing costs

On Tuesday, the Undergraduate Students Association Council unanimously voted, with four abstentions, in support of a 16-story high-rise housing project planned to be on Hilgard Avenue called The Agora.

This project was the subject of a contentious debate among different neighborhood groups and councils.

Esther Chung and Esther Magna, who are both advocates of the Save Hilgard Avenue group, stood against The Agora due to its estimated staggering cost and noise and pollution disruption of the project. They also presented the current availability of alternative affordable housing options, such as the Westwood PodShare, which is a hostel-style living community.

Aaron Green, a spokesperson for The Agora, and Eraj Basseri, co-principal developer of The Agora, supported the increased student accessibility to affordable housing, the project would bring.

The project offers 462 beds at $1,000 to $1,200 per month and includes 52 beds, which are less than $500 a month, which is more affordable than the standard Westwood rent.

In addition, the external vice president of USAC, Jamie Kennerk, agreed with the commitment the developers have to intermixing more affordable housing units with regularly price units.

Silver Screen Wonders: The 91st Academy Awards

The Oscars ceremony is approaching its 91st year, honoring this year’s most highly acclaimed and achieved films. The Daily Bruin looked into the role of UCLA alumni in the making of some of these 2019 Oscar-nominated films. From visual effects technology to costume design, Bruins are making waves in the film industry.

While alumnus Kelly Port demonstrated expertise in using motion capture technology to bring Thanos to life on the big screen in “Avengers: Infinity War,” other alumni like Melissa Berton focused their attention on short documentaries about issues they are passionate about.

Berton founded The Pad Project, a nonprofit dedicated to raising money to install a sanitary pad machine in Kathikera, India. It soon became the inspiration for her Academy Award-nominated short documentary, “Period. End of Sentence,” which depicts the process of providing women with the proper resources to take care of themselves as well as the gradual progress in the destigmatization of menstruation and female empowerment in the village.

In her “Second Take: List of best director nominees indicate gender inequity remaining in Hollywood,” columnist Alissa Evans reveals the still-existing prejudice the film industry holds against female directors, apparent in the all-male 2019 Oscar nominee list for best director.

With the nearing of the 91st Academy Awards, Evans curated her own predictions on who will take home the Oscar gold in six highly contentious categories, taking into consideration factors such as critic reviews, public response, past Oscar nominations and performance on screen.