College Tennis News - UCLA Downs Saint Mary's, 6-1

LOS ANGELES Following its thrilling victory over second-ranked USC on Friday, the No. 3 UCLA men's tennis team picked up yet another win on Sunday, dispatching of visiting Saint Mary's, 6-1 at the Los Angeles Tennis Center.

UCLA (11-1) cruised in doubles on Sunday, posting wins at all three positions to earn the one point awarded for doubles play. After the Bruins notched an 8-3 win at the No. 3 spot, UCLA's Adrien Puget and Karue Sell clinched the point at the No. 2 position, downing Samuel Bloore and Tuomas Manner, 8-4.

After doubles, UCLA moved out to a 3-0 lead in the match following straight-set singles wins from Sell and Alex Brigham. Sell downed Seif El Sherbini, 6-1, 6-2 at court No. 4, while Brigham was a 6-3, 6-0 winner over Bloore at court No. 5.

Saint Mary's (4-5) would eventually get on the board when Jesse Kiuru upset 58th-ranked Dennis Novikov, 6-3, 6-3 at the No. 1 position.

UCLA, however, secured the win when Marcos Giron dispatched of Joakim Norstrom, 7-5, 6-0 at court No. 2 to give the Bruins an insurmountable 4-1 advantage. It marked the second-straight match-clinching win for Giron, who also got the clinching win in the Bruins' 4-3 victory over USC on Friday.

With the match already decided, UCLA received singles wins from Dennis Mkrtchian and Ryoto Tachi at court Nos. 3 and 6, respectively.

UCLA has a week off from dual-match competition next week, as the team will be taking part in the Pacific Coast Doubles Championships in La Jolla, Calif.

#3 UCLA 6, Saint Mary's 1
Feb 24, 2013 at Los Angeles, CA (Los Angeles Tennis Center)

Doubles
1. Giron/Novikov (UCLA) def. Kiuru/Norstrom (SMC) 8-4
2. Adrien Puget/Sell (UCLA) def. Bloore/Manner (SMC) 8-4
3. Brigham/Mkrtchian (UCLA) def. El Sherbini/Hunt (SMC) 8-3
UCLA Wins Doubles Point

Singles
1. Jesse Kiuru (SMC) def. #58 Dennis Novikov (UCLA) 6-3, 6-3
2. #13 Marcos Giron (UCLA) def. Joakim Norstrom (SMC) 7-5, 6-0
3. #55 Dennis Mkrtchian (UCLA) def. Tuomas Manner (SMC) 6-3, 7-5
4. Karue Sell (UCLA) def. Seif El Sherbini (SMC) 6-1, 6-2
5. Alex Brigham (UCLA) def. Samuel Bloore (SMC) 6-3, 6-0
6. Ryoto Tachi (UCLA) def. Thomas Hunt (SMC) 7-5, 4-6, (10-5)

Match Notes
Saint Mary's 4-5
UCLA 11-1; National ranking #3
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (4,5,1,2,3,6)