Men’s tennis fails to start strong against USC in Pac-12 semifinal
Freshman Martin Redlicki was 5-5 in the final set of his three-set battle against USC’s Roberto Quiroz before the match was abandoned after USC managed to pick up enough points for a win. Redlicki said it was a bittersweet moment because he lost out on a chance to upset the higher-ranked Quiroz, but he was happy because he played the best he has in months. (Erin Ng/Daily Bruin senior staff)
By Matt Cummings
April 27, 2015 1:55 a.m.
After UCLA dominated doubles a week earlier in a loss against No. 8 USC, the script was flipped from the outset on Friday.
The No. 15 Bruins fell behind the Trojans immediately on the first two doubles courts, quickly dropping the doubles point on their way to a 4-1 loss in the semifinal of the Pac-12 tournament.
“We played horrendous doubles at (courts) one and two,” said coach Billy Martin. “After how well we played against (the Trojans) last week, they were definitely more fired up. They looked like they were mad about how well we played and they felt they probably didn’t play well so the were determined.”
Unlike the April 16 match when USC controlled singles play, UCLA took four of six first sets in singles to produce a semblance of hope against its crosstown rivals.
But the Trojans rebounded to take five of six second sets, with the Bruins’ only victory coming at No. 1 singles, where No. 3-ranked Mackenzie McDonald won, for the second week in a row, against USC’s No. 11 Yannick Hanfmann 6-3, 6-4.
“(Mcdonald) probably the only constant we’ve had match in and match out,” Martin said. “He’s certainly leading us and at number one singles, that’s really hard to do but he’s doing a great job of it.”
The final score of 4-1 did not reflect how close the match was. When freshman Austin Rapp lost the third set to USC’s Max de Vroome at No. 5 singles to end the match, the Bruins were in position to possibly take matches at No. 2 and No. 3, where senior Dennis Mkrtchian and freshman Martin Redlicki were in the middle of competitive third sets.
Redlicki said a win over No. 22-ranked Roberto Quiroz, who dispatched Redlicki in two sets last week, would likely have vaulted him forward in the ITA singles ranking, possibly even earning him a berth in the NCAA individual tournament.
“It was kind of bittersweet because I was feeling really confident that if we finished the match, I knew I had a good chance to win,” Redlicki said. “But also I was really happy with the way I played, probably the best I’ve played in the last month so I couldn’t be upset with myself after today.”
Even in doubles, Redlicki said that while it wasn’t the best performance for him and McDonald, USC’s top pair of Quiroz and Hanfmann played as well as possible en route to an 8-0 victory.
“I’m not saying that Mackie and I couldn’t have played better, but the other guys just played incredible doubles today,” Redlicki said. “They executed everything 10 out of 10. There was not much we could do.”
On the third doubles court, Mkrtchian and Rapp were tied 4-4 when the Trojans sealed the doubles point. Both players took some momentum into singles, winning their first sets at No. 2 and No. 5 respectively. Even though Rapp eventually lost, Martin said it was probably the best the freshman had played all year.
Rapp, who fell to de Vroome in two sets last week, said he was frustrated that he was not able to take advantage of the early lead.
“I didn’t execute on some of the opportunities I had to break his serve in the second and third set. And I broke him twice in the match so I knew I could do it and I had a lot of break points,” Rapp said. “Once he gets on a roll, he really starts playing well. So I can’t give him a lead in the future.”
The loss puts the Bruins in an uncertain position prior to Tuesday’s announcement of the NCAA Tournament field. After coming into the match ranked No. 15, Martin said he hopes the Bruins can get one of the 16 regional host spots when the field is announced. No. 16 North Carolina, who defeated No. 9 Duke over the weekend, will surely jump ahead of UCLA, according to Martin. Beyond that, he said the team will just have to wait and see.
Whether or not the Bruins host a regional, they will need to improve upon a penchant for losing tight matches against top competition if they want to make it to Waco, Texas, for the later rounds of the tournament.
“This shows us that we’re right there,” Redlicki said. “This whole year, we’ve been kind of getting unlucky, kind of catching bad breaks. … It’s just those pressure situations, it’s just working on that a bit. We’re right there with all these top schools because we’re not getting blown out by anybody. It’s super close with everybody we play.”
