Mackie McDonald wins 2016 NCAA Division I men’s singles championship
Junior Mackie McDonald won the NCAA singles championship in straight sets over Ohio State’s Mikael Torpegaard. It is UCLA men’s tennis’ first individual title since 2014. (Daily Bruin file photo)
By Charles Levin
May 30, 2016 11:57 a.m.
UCLA’s Mackie McDonald is the 2016 NCAA singles champion.
The No. 6 standout junior took down Ohio State’s No. 1 Mikael Torpegaard 6-3, 6-3 in the 2016 NCAA Division I men’s singles championship in Tulsa, Oklahoma to claim the title.
McDonald dominated the match from the beginning.
After Torpegaard broke McDonald to begin the match, the Bruin regained his composure and broke the Buckeye in the following game to tie the score. From there, McDonald engineered a lights-out performance.
He saved three break points to hold serve and broke Torpegaard again to go up 3-1. The two held serve the rest of the set and McDonald hit a service winner to clinch the first set.
The junior then broke Torpegaard to begin the second and after a series of holds, fought off a deuce point to go up 5-3. McDonald then broke Torpegaard at match point, winning the match is straight sets.
McDonald, a singles All-American for the third straight year, had a phenomenal showing at the tournament, taking down top-ranked opponents with ease. He only lost one set in his six wins – four against top-15 foes.
McDonald joins Benjamin Kohlloeffel (2006) and Marcos Giron (2014) as the third Bruin to win the title in the post-1976 modern tournament era.
And he’s not done yet.
McDonald and sophomore Martin Redlicki face Texas A&M’s Arthur Rinderknech and Jackson Withrow later today for a chance to claim the doubles title. If McDonald and Redlicki win, McDonald would become the fifth player in post-1976 NCAA history to accomplish such a feat.
