UCLA Team Page
Tulsa, Okla. - Senior men's tennis player Clay Thompson made the most of his first-round exit at the ITA Men's All-American Championships at Tulsa's Michael D. Case Tennis Center this week, as he went on to win five matches in the back draw to claim the consolation singles title on Sunday. With the victory, Thompson earns a wild card into next month's USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships in Flushing, N.Y.
Thompson took on Oklahoma's Daniil Proskura on Sunday. The pair stayed on serve until 4-4 in the first set when Thompson got the break and served out the set. The second set was just as tight, but the Bruin took the match 6-4 7-5 for the title.
"It was a mental battle," said Thompson. "I kept telling myself to keep being aggressive and keep being strong. It was a good match but it was really tough, especially mentally."
UCLA's Marcos Giron and Mackenzie McDonald came extremely close to winning the men's doubles title in Tulsa, dropping a narrow decision to top-seeded Mikelis Libietis and Hunter Reese of Tennessee on Sunday. The Bruin duo started strong by winning the first set 6-2, however Libietis and Reese battled back to take the second 6-1. Despite owning a 5-2 lead in the third and deciding set, Giron and Mackenzie couldn't hold on, as the Volunteer duo battled back to win the set in a tiebreaker, eventually winning the match 2-6, 6-1, 7-6(2).
Complete results from the ITA Men's All-American Championships can be found HERE.
Aztec Invitational
Bruin freshman Joseph Di Giulio was looking to claim the Flight-I singles title at the Aztec Invitational in San Diego on Sunday but came up just a little short, as he suffered a 6-4, 6-3 loss to USC's Robbie Bellamy.
