Ucla Men's Tennis
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UCLA MEN’S TENNIS UCLA Athletic Communications / J.D. Morgan Center / 325 Westwood Plaza / Los Angeles, CA 90095 Men’s Tennis Contact: Andrew Sinatra / [email protected] / o: (310) 206-8141 / c: (310) 613-7389 2021 UCLA MTEN SCHEDULE UCLA Faces Arizona State in Opener of Pac-12s (12-5, 4-3 PAC-12) Saturday, April 24 - Monday, April 26 San Diego, Calif. (Barnes Tennis Center) January Sat. 23 vs. California 1 W 4-0 MATCH INFORMATION Mon. 25 at (1) USC 1 L 1-4 Date/Time: Saturday, April 24/3:00 PM PT Sunday, April 25/3:00 PM PT* February Monday, April 26/3:00 PM PT* Thu. 4 Boise State Canceled Television (Monday): Pac-12 Network Sat. 20 Loyola Marymount W 4-1 Talent (Monday): J.B. Long (play-by-play) Wed. 24 UC Santa Barbara W 6-1 Corina Morariu (analyst) Sun. 28 (9) USC L 3-4 Live Scoring: pac12.me/TENLiveScores * - if necessary March Tue. 2 UNLV W 6-1 Wed. 10 (27) Pepperdine Postponed 2021 PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIPS Fri. 12 Utah* W 6-1 Saturday, April 24 Sunday, April 25 Mon. 22 Stanford W 4-3 Match 1: #1 Stanford vs. #8 Washington 3:00 PM Match 5: Winner Match 1 vs. Winner Match 2 3:00 PM Tue. 23 UC Irvine W 7-0 Match 2: #4 UCLA vs. #5 Arizona State 3:00 PM Match 6: Winner Match 3 vs. Winner Match 4 3:00 PM Fri. 26 at (17) Arizona State* W 4-3 Match 3: #2 Arizona vs. #7 Utah 6:00 PM Sun. 28 at (19) Arizona* L 1-4 Match 4: #3 USC vs. #6 Oregon 6:00 PM Monday, April 26 Match 7: Winner Match 5 vs. Winner Match 6 3:00 PM April Fri. 2 (49) Oregon* W 5-2 Sat. 3 Washington* W 7-0 UP NEXT Tue. 6 San Diego W 6-1 The UCLA men’s tennis team begins postseason play Saturday, when it meets Arizona State in quarterfinal-round action at Fri. 9 at (37/29) Stanford* L 3-4 the Pac-12 Championships. Fourth-seeded UCLA meets No. 5 seed ASU at 3 p.m., PT in a rematch of a March 26 contest narrowly won by the Bruins, 4-3. Barnes Tennis Center in San Diego plays host to the tournament, which was relocated from Sat. 10 at California* Canceled the Ojai (Calif.) Valley Tennis Club due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Competition continues through Monday’s final Fri. 16 at (15/13) USC* L 1-6 round. Pac-12 Network will cover the championship match, also scheduled to get underway at 3 p.m., PT. Wed. 21 (30/30) Pepperdine W 4-0 2 Sat. 24 (27/29) Arizona State 3:00 PM FOLLOW LIVE 2 Sun. 25 Pac-12 Championships TBD Pac-12 Network is set to air Monday’s final round of the Pac-12 Championships, beginning at 3 p.m., PT, with J.B. Long 2 Mon. 26 Pac-12 Championships TBD and Corina Morariu on the call. Additional coverage will be available on Pac-12.com and the Pac-12 Now app. Live scoring is available at pac12.me/TENLiveScores. May 3 7-9 NCAA First & Second Rounds TBD 4 UCLA AT THE PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIPS 14 or 15 NCAA Third Round TBD UCLA is a four-time champion of the Pac-12’s year-end tournament, as head coach Billy Martin has led teams to titles in 5 20-23 NCAA Championships TBD 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2018. USC has collected the other four titles, with UCLA achieving runner-up status in 2012 and NOTE: Number in parenthesis indicates position in that week’s Oracle/ 2017. The tournament was not played in 2020. The 2019 Bruins bowed out in the semifinal round against California, which ITA Top-25 Rankings (Starting April 7, rankings divided into computer- earned the doubles point and added singles victories from Paul Barretto, Bjorn Hoffmann and the clinching Jacob Brumm. ized rankings/coaches poll) Patrick Zahraj picked up the lone singles win of the day for UCLA. KEY: 1 ITA Kickoff Weekend (Los Angeles Tennis Center) LAST TIME OUT 2 Pac-12 Championships (at Barnes Tennis Center, San Diego, UCLA made a statement in its final match of the regular season, defeating Pepperdine by a 4-0 score Wednesday afternoon Calif.) at Los Angeles Tennis Center. The Bruins, who honored seven graduating student-athletes after the contest, received the 3 NCAA First & Second Rounds (Location TBD) clinching point from graduate transfer Sam Feit. Roscoe Bellamy and Govind Nanda were also victorious on the singles 4 NCAA Third Round (Location TBD) courts. The Waves entered the match winners of 10 of 11 and had not been shut out since their Jan. 23 season opener. 5 NCAA Championships (at USTA National Campus - Collegiate Center, Orlando, Fla.) * Pac-12 matches IN THE RANKINGS The UCLA men’s tennis team checks in at No. 21 in the latest Tennis Channel/USTA Top 25, it was announced Wednesday. UCLA ON SOCIAL MEDIA The most recent Oracle ITA team rankings, also released Wednesday, have the Bruins at No. 28 on its computerized list and No. 27 according to the coaches poll. Oracle ITA also unveiled its newest player rankings the same day, with Bruins Keegan Men’s Tennis Twitter: @UCLATennis Smith (No. 61), Govind Nanda (74) and Drew Baird (115) on the singles list. The combination of Baird and Nanda made its Men’s Tennis Instagram: @UCLAMTennis debut in the doubles rankings at No. 68. Men’s Tennis Facebook: /UCLAMensTennis UCLA Athletics Twitter: @UCLAAthletics TOP-TIER TRIUMPHS UCLA Athletics Instagram: @UCLAAthletics Drew Baird, Ben Goldberg and Keegan Smith defeated a trio of Oracle ITA then-top-26 players in the Bruins’ narrow Feb. UCLA Athletics Facebook: /UCLAAthletics 28 home loss to USC. Each win represents a career best in terms of ranking. Baird dispatched of No. 19 Riley Smith, 6-3, 6-4, for his third straight-set victory in a row. Goldberg knocked off No. 26 Mor Bulis, 7-6(5), 6-2, for his second-career win #GoBruins on Court 3. And in a top-court showdown, Smith took down No. 1 Daniel Cukierman, 6-2, 7-5, evening their personal series at two wins apiece. Smith is now 28-15 versus nationally-ranked opponents for his career. Baird is 2-4 in those situations, while Goldberg holds a 5-7 mark. SMITH EARNS NATIONAL RECOGNITION Keegan Smith was named UTR ITA Division I Player of the Week for April 8-15, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association announced April 14. The award, a first for UCLA men’s tennis, honors players based on increase in Universal Tennis Rating throughout the previous week. Smith went 4-0 across his singles and doubles matches as the Bruins registered a split with in-state rivals San Diego and Stanford. His UTR rose from 13.75 to 13.88 with the wins. Smith possesses career records of 93-20 in singles play and 68-27 in doubles action. He captured the NCAA doubles championship with Maxime Cressy in 2020-21 UCLA MEN’S TENNIS MEDIA INFORMATION 2019, the last time the tournament was played. The pair was undefeated in 21 matches and 26 sets. Smith is a three-time UCLA Athletic Communications All-American and looks to join Brian Teacher (1973-76), Ferdi Taygan (1974-77) and Marcel Freeman (1979-82) in UCLA’s J.D. Morgan Center, Suite 128 exclusive club of four-timers. 325 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095 Men’s Tennis Contact Andrew Sinatra SMITH, NANDA COLLECT PAC-12 AWARDS Office Phone (310) 206-8141 Fresh off his initial match play of the 2020-21 campaign, Govind Nanda was named Pac-12 Player of the Week for March Cell Phone (310) 613-7389 22-28, the conference announced March 31. The award marked the second received by a Bruin this season, as Keegan Fax (310) 825-8664 Smith was previously recognized March 2. Nanda played the role of hero in UCLA’s 4-3 home victory over Stanford March E-mail [email protected] 22. Tasked with taking down the nation’s No. 3 player, Alexandre Rotsaert, he did just that by a 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 score. The Website www.uclabruins.com showdown on Court 2 was the final match of the day and represented Nanda’s first singles appearance of the season. Media Availability He also earned singles victories against Bjorn Hoffmann of UC Irvine March 23 and Makey Rakotomalala of Arizona State Head coach Billy Martin’s weekly media availability typically takes place March 26. Smith was honored after earning wins over a pair of top-30 singles opponents – including top-ranked Daniel before the team’s Tuesday practice, which usually runs from 1:45-4:15 Cukierman of USC Feb. 28 – and had a hand in clinching the doubles point versus UC Santa Barbara Feb. 24. He also beat p.m. at Los Angeles Tennis Center. Players are available to the media at the same time. Practices are not open to the public. No. 27 Joseph Guillin of the Gauchos. Credentials SELL RETURNS TO WESTWOOD Media admission to Los Angeles Tennis Center is by credential only. All The UCLA men’s tennis program has hired former standout Karue Sell to the position of volunteer assistant coach, head credential requests should be made through email or by phone call or text to the UCLA women’s tennis contact, Andrew Sinatra, at least 48 hours coach Billy Martin announced March 8.