Alabama
UCLA
Men's Tennis Falls to No. 9 UCLA, 4-0
1/28/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Jan. 28, 2012
LOS ANGELES - The men's tennis team (0-2) dropped a 4-0 decision to No. 9 UCLA (3-0) on Saturday in the opening round of action at the ITA Kick-Off Weekend. The Crimson Tide will now take on UC Irvine on Sunday at Noon CT in the consolation match.
"In some ways it was a tale of two matches," said Alabama head coach Billy Pate. "We finished well with a lot of momentum, but needed one more to go our way. We were in position to potentially win two matches, maybe even a third in another 10-15 minutes, however we really started slow in the first sets of singles and really took ourselves out of the match early. In contrast, we started well in doubles, but couldn't sustain the momentum."
UCLA grabbed hold of the early 1-0 advantage after picking up wins at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles. First to finish was the matchup on court three where Bruin junior Warren Hardie and freshman Dennis Mkrtchian topped Alabama sophomores Daniil Proskura and Carlos Taborga, 8-4. On court two, UCLA junior Alex Brigham and freshman Marcos Giron posted an 8-5 win over Tide junior Jarryd Botha and freshman David Vieyra.
In singles, UCLA won three straight-set matches to pick up the team victory, starting with the matchup on court six as No. 94 Puget posted a 6-0, 6-0 decision over No. 122 Thompson. Next to finish was court four, where Mkrtchian defeated No. 91 Proskura, 6-1, 6-1. Clinching the match for the Bruins was Meister on court one, as he posted a 6-3, 6-4 decision over Botha.
"UCLA is one of the top five or so teams in the country, and in the end, they were better today," added Pate. "We'll get ready for tomorrow for a tough Irvine team where we will expect to be sharp, start to finish."
RESULTS
Doubles
1. Meister/Puget (UCLA) vs. Doverspike/Thompson (UA) 7-3, unf.
2. Brigham/Giron (UCLA) def. Botha/Vieyra (UA) 8-5
3. Hardie/Mkrtchian (UCLA) def. No. 21 Proskura/Taborga (UA) 8-4
Order of Finish: 3,2
Singles
1. Nick Meister (UCLA) def. Jarryd Botha (UA) 6-3, 6-4
2. No. 86 Marcos Giron (UCLA) vs. Ricky Doverspike (UA) 6-1, 3-6, 2-4, unf.
3. Maxime Tabatruong (UCLA) vs. No. 96 Vikram Reddy (UA) 4-6, 4-2, unf.
4. Dennis Mkrtchian (UCLA) def. No. 91 Daniil Proskura (UA) 6-1, 6-1
5. Alex Brigham (UCLA) vs. Carlos Taborga (UA) 6-2, 4-6, 0-3, unf.
6. No. 94 Adrien Puget (UCLA) def. No. 122 Michael Thompson (UA) 6-0, 6-0
Order of Finish: 6,4,1*
Players Mentioned
