UCLA improves doubles play in defeats of Arizona, Utah
Junior Marcos Giron was part of one of the Bruin pairs’ wins in doubles against Arizona. (Jose Ubeda/Daily Bruin staff)
By Sam DeMello
April 14, 2014 1:23 a.m.
Friday’s match between the men’s tennis teams of UCLA and Utah began with a fierce battle for the doubles point. After the teams traded wins at courts one and two, the Bruins’ hopes of winning the doubles point rested on the shoulders of freshmen Gage Brymer and Mackenzie McDonald. The young players managed to pull off a victory in a 7-5 tiebreaker, securing the doubles point for UCLA.
This game was extremely close; however, the Bruins went on to sweep Utah 4-0.
The Bruins, who have shown inconsistent doubles play throughout the season, are showing improvement after winning the doubles point against six of their last eight opponents.
“We are definitely getting a feel for doubles play,” McDonald said. “There’s always room for improvement, but I’m glad we’re getting somewhere with it.”
The Bruins are now on an eight-game winning streak, and hold a 19-2 regular-season record as well as a perfect 6-0 record in the Pac-12.
“It is very important for us to try and be undefeated in the (conference),” said junior Marcos Giron. “I think it gives us confidence going into the Pac-12 Tournament and the NCAA Tournament as well.”
The Bruins’ unblemished record should land the team a high seed at the upcoming Pac-12 Tournament, which will be held in Ojai from April 24 to April 28.
However, UCLA has a match against UC San Diego on Wednesday, and the team must play its rival USC on Friday before its placement in the tournament can be finalized.
The Bruins and Trojans have a history of close battles for Pac-12 dominance; UCLA has defeated USC in the regular-season title match for the past two years, and also defeated USC in the championship match of the Pac-12 Tournament last year.
With both teams having undefeated Pac-12 records, the winner of Friday’s match will be declared Pac-12 regular-season champion.
“The Trojans are a good team,” said coach Billy Martin. “It should give us confidence to get by them, but we need to take things one match at a time.”
