Netted by limited success in regionals, men’s tennis looks to better gameplay
Sophomore Keegan Smith entered the ITA regionals as the No. 1 seed and was eliminated in the round of 32. Smith posted a 40-7 singles record as well as a 21-15 mark in doubles. (Daily Bruin file photo)
By Gabriel McCarthy
Oct. 23, 2018 12:08 a.m.
The Bruins returned from Pepperdine with no silverware, but another tourney of preseason experience.
Six members of the UCLA men’s tennis team competed in the Southwest section of the ITA Regionals over the weekend at the Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center in Malibu, California.
UCLA sent sophomores Keegan Smith, Connor Hance and Bryce Pereira to the tournament, as well as redshirt sophomore Connor Rapp and freshmen Eric Hahn and Max Wild. The Bruins were competing in singles and doubles at the regionals, with five players in singles and three doubles teams.
Smith entered the singles tournament as the No. 1 seed and had a first-round bye before he defeated UC Irvine’s Mateusz Smolicki 6-2, 6-0.
Smith was upset by No. 32-seeded Tanner Smith from USC 6-1, 6-3 in the round of 32. Tanner Smith advanced to the final before losing to fellow Trojan Logan Smith in three sets.
UCLA coach Billy Martin said he was disappointed Keegan Smith did not advance further in match play.
“I’m quite honestly not happy and I’m pretty disappointed,” Martin said. “(Smith) losing early was the biggest disappointment for me as a coach. But it happens, better now than later on.”
Smith was ranked No. 28 in the preseason ITA/Oracle rankings and was invited to compete at the ITA Men’s All-American Championship earlier in October. He fell in the second round to Nuno Borges of Mississippi State – the No. 2 player in the nation.
Smith said he felt he still has components of his game to work on before season play begins in spring.
“I’m not too worried about it, it’s preseason and I didn’t really play my best,” Smith said. “The guy I played played really well. I just need to keep working on my serve and volleys, I think those two areas of my game I think can get better, as well as my movement.”
No. 13-seeded Hahn advanced to the round of 16, defeating UC Santa Barbara’s Anders Holm and UCI’s Luis Lopez before losing to No. 4-seeded Daniel Cukierman from USC 6-2, 6-2. Martin said he was impressed with Hahn’s play as a freshman in his second career tournament.
“I was happy with (Hahn),” Martin said. “He’s a freshman winning a couple good matches before losing to USC’s No. 2 guy, he’s playing a guy five years older than him and a typically savvy older player.”
No. 54-seeded Wild fell in the first round to No. 75-seeded Loyola Marymount’s Ethan Prost and No. 15 seed Hance defeated No. 79 seed Alex Soto from UCSB before losing to Grand Canyon University’s No. 18 seed Lorenzo Fucile 7-5, 7-5.
No. 63-seeded Rapp advanced to the round of 64 before facing No. 2-seeded San Diego’s August Holmgren, who won 6-2, 6-4 and eventually advanced to the semifinals.
Smith was joined by Pereira in the doubles bracket as the No. 8 seed and the duo advanced to the quarterfinals before losing to No. 1-seeded pair Brandon Holt and Riley Smith from USC.
“I felt pretty good in doubles, a lot more comfortable than I was in the summer with (Keegan Smith),” Pereira said. “We had a few good wins and then had a tough one against USC, but we were right there with them.”
Martin said the team has to continue improving if they are to compete in the spring.
“Some of the guys really have to step it up and work on things in their game,” Martin said. “We’ve got a better game plan than we did a week ago, but we’ve got serious work to have to get going.”
