Men’s tennis falls to Stanford on the road despite early lead
In likely his last career match at Stanford, senior Keegan Smith won No. 34 UCLA men’s tennis points in both doubles and singles play, winning the former 6-4 and the latter 6-0, 6-2 – the most lopsided singles score of the day. (Jeremy Chen/Daily Bruin)
men's tennis
| No. 34 UCLA | 3 |
| No. 37 Stanford | 4 |
By Jack Nelson
April 11, 2021 4:33 p.m.
The Bruins were on the brink of ruining the Cardinal’s undefeated record in conference play.
Then, they weren’t.
No. 34 UCLA men’s tennis (11-4, 4-2 Pac-12) fell 4-3 to No. 37 Stanford (8-3, 5-0) on Friday at Taube Family Tennis Center. Unable to win one of four remaining singles matches, the Bruins watched their early 3-0 lead evaporate.
Senior Keegan Smith said his team wasn’t thinking about the standings coming into the match.
“We just wanted to beat them,” Smith said. “We knew we could do it, we’ve done it before.”
In its previous meeting with Stanford, UCLA dropped the doubles point and had to claim four of six singles matches to come away with the win. This time around, the Bruins got off on the right foot.
The senior duo of Bryce Pereira and Smith took the first step toward the 1-0 advantage by dealing a 6-4 loss to Axel Geller and Neel Rajesh on court one. Sophomore Drew Baird and junior Govind Nanda then turned in the second 6-4 tally of the day, defeating Tristan Boyer and Timothy Sah on court two to get UCLA on the board.
Coach Billy Martin said stronger team chemistry made the difference at doubles.
“I think our teams are jelling, getting together better, getting to know each other and (are) more comfortable with each other,” Martin said. “I felt we played quite well.”
The Bruins’ top-court trio of Smith, Nanda and Baird controlled its first sets of singles play, collecting 6-0, 6-2 and 6-1 wins over Geller, Arthur Fery and Alexandre Rotsaert, respectively. The first singles match to go final was the most lopsided outing for UCLA, as Smith claimed a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Geller at court one.
Smith attributed his efforts to the circumstances of the match and the work he has been putting in throughout the season.
“It’s my last match probably at Stanford ever as a Bruin, so I wanted to go out there and cherish the moment a little bit,” Smith said. “I’ve been working really hard so it’s good to see the hard work starting to pay off.”
Nanda expanded UCLA’s lead to 3-0, triumphing 6-2, 6-3 over Fery on court two to bring his team within one point of vanquishing the top-ranked team in the conference.
However, it was at this point when the results stopped favoring the Bruins.
Stanford began to cut into the deficit on court four, where redshirt senior Ben Goldberg took a 6-4, 6-0 loss at the hands of Boyer. The Bruins’ lead dwindled even more with Baird failing to sustain his early success, dropping a 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 decision to Rotsaert on court three.
Junior Mathew Tsolakyan’s match against William Genesen on court six was a closer affair than the rest, but he twice fell short in the tiebreaker, losing 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5) – just his second loss in 11 singles matches this season. With the score knotted at three apiece, UCLA’s lead had become no lead at all.
The Bruins’ last hope rested with graduate transfer Sam Feit on court five, who after losing the first set 6-3, would have to come from behind to deliver a victory. He prevailed in the second set 7-6 (8), but a different result unfolded in the third set.
Despite breaking Sah to go up 4-3 with a chance to serve for the 5-3 lead, Feit lost the clinching opportunity 6-3, 6-7 (8), 6-4. For the first time since 2015, UCLA lost its second conference match in a season.
Martin said he understood Feit’s position, but wished he had taken more time with each point.
“I know he wanted to win badly for UCLA and for his teammates, but he rushed himself when it got time to close the match,” Martin said. “I could just see him trying to win points quicker and not work the point as much, and that happens a lot when you’re in a really nerve-wracking position.”
Coming into this season, the Bruins had claimed four consecutive Pac-12 regular season titles, a streak which still stands after COVID-19 prevented a title from being awarded last season. After dropping conference bouts to Arizona and now Stanford, Martin said the streak will reach its end.
“It’s absolutely gone,” Martin said. “It’s not going to happen. There’s no way.”
UCLA has one conference foe remaining on its schedule, as it will travel to Marks Stadium on April 16 for a crosstown rivalry match against No. 15 USC (16-6, 4-2). Smith said after mulling the loss to Stanford, the Bruins will have the opportunity to avenge their previous two losses to the Trojans.
“We should let the loss sting a little bit,” Smith said. “We just have to learn from it and train hard to beat ‘SC and take our vengeance out on them.”
