Men’s tennis changes lineup, sweeps first indoor match of the season
Junior Maxime Cressy and the No. 7 Bruins swept unranked Seattle on Wednesday in their last match before the ITA Division I National Men’s Team Indoor Championship on Friday. (Kathy Chen/Daily Bruin)
By Justin Auh
Feb. 15, 2018 1:01 a.m.
The unfamiliar indoor territory posed no threat to the Bruins.
No. 7 UCLA (8-1) swept unranked Seattle (3-4) 7-0 on Wednesday in its first indoor match of the season. The team also picked up its first road win of the year.
“We all acclimated pretty well to (the indoors),” said freshman Connor Hance. “I’m happy with how we played.”
The Bruins made tweaks to their doubles lineup for the second straight match. Junior Maxime Cressy shifted from court three to court one, replacing senior Martin Redlicki, and sophomore Ben Goldberg took Cressy’s spot at court three.
“I figured (Redlicki) is going to get a lot of play over the next three or four days,” said coach Billy Martin. “I wanted to let some of the other guys get in there.”
With the adjustments, UCLA claimed its first doubles point in three matches. Cressy and sophomore Evan Zhu won their set 6-3, while Goldberg and freshman Bryce Pereira defeated their opponents 6-2.
“The coaches just wanted to mix things up and play me with (Zhu),” Cressy said. “It was a good experience for me playing number one (doubles).”
Redlicki was also absent from singles play, creating opportunities for other players to step up.
Senior Austin Rapp won the first singles point for the Bruins, quickly defeating his opponent 6-1, 6-0 at court six.
Four other Bruins won in straight sets, including Hance who moved up to court five and beat his foe 6-4, 6-3.
“I started off a little shaky in the first few games, but I found my way throughout the match,” Hance said. “It was close, but I had control for the rest of the match.”
Cressy dropped his first set 7-5 and fought back with a 6-3 victory in set two to force a tiebreaker.
In the tightly contested third set, Cressy opened with a 6-4 lead. However, his opponent pulled ahead with an 8-5 lead off several passing shots. Cressy rebounded, coming away with a 12-10 win to complete the sweep.
Coach Martin expressed confidence that his team is adjusting to indoor conditions following the team’s numerous practice sessions and the match.
“I think we’re getting a little more comfortable each and every day with the indoor courts,” Martin said. “Hopefully we’ll be able to compete well (this weekend).”
UCLA will face Illinois in the first round of the ITA Division I National Men’s Team Indoor Championship on Friday.
