Feb. 5, 2013
Final Stats
LOS ANGELES, Calif. - The University of San Diego men's tennis team (3-2) fell to UCLA (5-0) 5-2 Tuesday afternoon at the Los Angeles Tennis Center.
The No. 26 Toreros, who were coming off a double-header sweep of UC San Diego and UC Irvine last Saturday, struggled early against the third ranked Bruins, but rallied to earn singles victories over both of the Bruins ranked players.
The Bruins started out the match by grabbing the doubles point. Alex Brigham and Dennis Mkrtchian knocked off Clarke Spinosa and Andrew Carlisle 8-3 at the No. 3 spot, which was followed by Adrien Puget and Karue Sell defeating Uros Petronijevic and Thibaut Visy 8-5 at the No. 2. Both Toreros doubles pairings were playing together for the first time this season.
The Bruins kicked off singles play with a win at the No. 6 spot after Sell beat Fitzgerald 6-2, 6-0. Dennis Novikov followed suit by knocking off the Toreros' lone senior Thibaut Visy 6-2, 6-3 at the No. 1 spot. The Bruins clinched the match when Puget edged Kalaydjian 7-6, 6-4 at the No. 2 spot.
Both points earned by the Toreros came from thrilling singles victories over ranked UCLA players. At the No. 4, Petronijevic battled back after losing the first set to beat No. 41 Dennis Mkrtchian 3-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-2. Spinosa followed by defeating No. 12 Marcos Giron 7-6 (9-7), 4-6, (11-9) in a tough fought battle at the No. 3 spot.
"Congrats to Clarke and Uros for beating two high ranked players," Head Coach Brett Masi. "It's a huge accomplishment to come up here and compete with UCLA."
The last singles match to finish was at the No. 5 where Victor Pugliese couldn't hold on after winning the first set, falling 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 to Clay Thompson.
"I saw some good things out there," Masi said. "I am looking forward to Arizona."
The Wildcats (5-0) will visit USD Saturday for a 1:30 match.
DOUBLES:
1. Marcos Giron/Dennis Novikov (UCLA) vs. Ciaran Fitzgerald/Romain Kalaydjian (USD) abandoned
2. Adrien Puget/Karue Sell (UCLA) def. Uros Petronijevic/Thibaut Visy (USD) 8-5
3. Alex Brigham/Dennis Mkrtchian (UCLA) def. Andrew Carlisle/Clarke Spinosa (USD) 8-3
Order of Finish: (3, 2)
SINGLES
1. Dennis Novikov (UCLA) def. Thibaut Visy (USD) 6-2, 6-4
2. Adrian Puget (UCLA) def. No. 62 Romain Kalaydjian (USD) 7-6 (7-3), 6-4
3. Clarke Spinosa (USD def. No. 12 Marcos Giron (UCLA) 7-6 (9-7), 4-6, 1-0 (11-9)
4. Uros Petronijevic (USD) def. No. 41 Dennis Mkrtchian (UCLA) 3-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-2
5. Clay Thompson (UCLA) def. Victor Pugliese (USD) 2-6, 6-2, 6-3
6. Karue Sell (UCLA) def. Ciaran Fitzgerald (USD) 6-2, 6-0
Order of Finish: (6,1,2,4,3,5)
