UCLA Team Page

LOS ANGELES - The third-ranked UCLA men's tennis team earned the right to travel to Seattle, Wash. for next month's USTA/ITA National Team Indoors on Monday, dispatching of visiting BYU, 6-1 in the final match of ITA Kick-Off Weekend at the Los Angeles Tennis Center.

Doubles was extremely close, with the final two matches decided by tiebreakers. The only match that wasn't close was at court No. 2, where Adrien Puget and Karue Sell lost just one game in an 8-1 victory over Andrey Goryachkov and Spencer Smith. The Cougars, however, answered right back with a win of their own at the No. 1 position, as Patrick Kawka and Francis Sargeant outlasted Marcos Giron and Dennis Novikov, 8-7(3). Less than a minute later, the Bruins pulled out a tiebreaker of their own at court No. 3, as Alex Brigham and Dennis Mkrtchian downed Keaton Cullimore and John Pearce, 8-7(3) to clinch the point.

UCLA (3-0) started strong in singles, winning the first set on five of six courts. Playing back at court No. 6, Sell had the team's quickest win of the day, as he downed Goryachkov, 6-1, 6-1 to make it 2-0 UCLA.

Sophomore Marcos Giron, who checks in at No. 12 nationally in singles, was also a straight-set winner, downing Smith, 6-3, 6-2. Giron's victory made it 3-0 UCLA, setting the stage for junior Clay Thompson to clinch the win at court No. 5, where he beat Pearce, 6-2, 6-1.

Although the match had already been decided, both teams agreed to play out the final three singles matches. Mkrtchian and Puget both notched straight-set singles wins for the Bruins at court Nos. 4 and 3, respectively. Kawka accounted for BYU's lone point of the afternoon with a 6-3, 7-6(5) victory over Bruin sophomore Dennis Novikov at court No. 2.

The loss marks BYU's first of the season, as the Cougars are now 5-1 overall.

UCLA returns to action on Saturday, hosting Fresno State on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.

#3 UCLA 6, #57 BYU 1
Jan 28, 2013 at Los Angeles, CA (Los Angeles Tennis Center)

Doubles
1. Kawka/Sargeant (BYU) def. Giron/Novikov (UCLA) 8-7 (7-3)
2. Puget/Sell (UCLA) def. Goryachkov/Smith (BYU) 8-1
3. Alex Brigham/Mkrtchian (UCLA) def. Cullimore/Pearce (BYU) 8-7 (7-3)
UCLA Wins Doubles Point

Singles
1. #12 Marcos Giron (UCLA) def. Spencer Smith (BYU) 6-3, 6-2
2. Patrick Kawka (BYU) def. Dennis Novikov (UCLA) 6-3, 7-6(5)
3. Adrien Puget (UCLA) def. Keaton Cullimore (BYU) 7-6(6), 6-3
4. #41 Dennis Mkrtchian (UCLA) def. Francis Sargeant (BYU) 6-4, 6-2
5. Clay Thompson (UCLA) def. John Pearce (BYU) 6-2, 6-1
6. Karue Sell (UCLA) def. Andrey Goryachkov (BYU) 6-1, 6-1

Match Notes
BYU 5-1; National ranking #57
UCLA 3-0; National ranking #3
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (6,1,5,4,2,3)
UCLA advances to USTA/ITA National Team Indoors, Feb. 15-18 in Seattle, Wash.