SAN DIEGO – No. 9 San Diego men's tennis suffered a 4-3 defeat to No. 35 UCLA on Thursday evening at Hogan Tennis Center.
 
A season ago, the Toreros topped the then No. 20 Bruins 4-3 at their place, USD's first win ever in Westwood. This time around, it was UCLA's turn to be on the winning side of a 4-3 thriller.
 
The guests took first advantage in a consequential doubles point, winning on courts one and two to go ahead at 1-0 while a Torero 5-2 lead on court three was for naught, the day's lone unfinished match.
 
USD would respond, however, as the squad is accustomed to in moments of pressure. Redshirt senior and national No. 98 Stian Klaassen claimed a 6-2, 6-4 win on court two while redshirt junior Lambert Ruland was victorious 6-4, 6-4 at No. 5 singles not long after to put the Toreros up 2-1 in the dual.
 
A Bruin straight set win on main court knotted the match at two apiece. Again, the Toreros found an answer from experience at the bottom of their lineup as senior Neo Niedner claimed a three-set win on court six after dropping the first set 6-2, to put the Toreros back on top.
 
UCLA's win in three sets on court three left the highly-touted SoCal dual in the balance of court two, where USD freshman Vincent Marysko and the Bruins' 105^th-ranked Rudy Quan were tied up one set each and 3-3 in the deciding third set.
 
The pair would hold their serves up until Quan got a break at 6-5 to win the match and turn the dual's final point in favor of UCLA.
 
Up Next
The Toreros will look to bounce back as they head to Tulsa, Okla. to face the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 29.
 
Results
#35 UCLA 4, #9 San Diego 3
 
Doubles
1. Spencer Johnson/Aadarsh Tripathi (UCLA) def. #15 Adrien Berrut/Lambert Ruland (USD) 6-2
2. Gianluca Ballotta/Emon van Loben Sels (UCLA) def. Manvydas Balciunas/Stian Klaassen (USD) 6-2
3. Vincent Marysko/Oliver Tarvet (USD) vs. Rudy Quan/Bengt Reinhard (UCLA) 5-2, unfinished
 
Singles
1. #61 Spencer Johnson (UCLA) def. #32 Oliver Tarvet (USD) 6-3, 7-6 (7-4)
2. #105 Rudy Quan (UCLA) def. Vincent Marysko (USD) 3-6, 7-6 (7-2), 7-5
3. #26 Emon van Loben Sels (UCLA) def. #83 Manvydas Balciunas (USD) 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
4. #98 Stian Klaassen (USD) def. Gianluca Ballotta (UCLA) 6-2, 6-4
5. Lambert Ruland (USD) def. Aadarsh Tripathi (UCLA) 6-4, 6-4
6. Neo Niedner (USD) def. Bengt Reinhard (UCLA) 2-6, 6-2, 6-4
 
Match Notes:
UCLA 6-3; National ranking #35
San Diego 7-3; National ranking #9
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (4,5,1,6,3,2)