Third-ranked Bruins travel across town to take on No. 2 USC this Friday.
UCLA Team Page
LOS ANGELES - The No. 3 UCLA men's tennis team (9-1) will be looking to avenge its only loss of the season this Friday, as the Bruins head across town to take on No. 2 USC (12-1) at the Marks Tennis Stadium beginning at 3:00 p.m. The match is considered non-conference and will not count in the Pac-12 standings. The Bruins then round out the week at home on Sunday, hosting St. Mary's (3-4) at Noon. Admission is free for both matches.
Live Stats
UCLA and USC recently met in the semifinals of the USTA/ITA National Team Indoors in Seattle on Feb. 17, with the Trojans pullout out a slim 4-3 victory. Although the Bruins won the doubles point, USC was able to win four matches in singles play. With the dual match tied 3-3, USC's Robert Quiroz clinched the win for his team with a 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(4) victory over Bruin junior Adrien Puget at court No. 3.
Despite the loss to USC, the Bruins still posted a pair of solid wins at the Team Indoors. UCLA opened up the event with a 4-1 victory over No. 14 Tennessee in the round of 16. The Bruins then downed No. 6 Georgia, 4-1 in the quarterfinals. Visit the official National Team Indoor Tournament Page for more information about the event, which was hosted by the University of Washington.
New team rankings were released on Tuesday and UCLA remained at No. 3 in the country behind No. 1 Virginia and No. 2 USC. Ohio State and Duke round out the top 5 at Nos. 4 and 5, respectively. Complete team rankings can be found HERE.
Individually, UCLA has four players ranked in singles led by Marcos Giron at No. 13. He is followed by No. 42 Adrien Puget, No. 55 Dennis Mkrtchian and No. 58 Dennis Novikov. The Bruins do not currently have any doubles teams ranked. Individual rankings can be found here: Singles | Doubles. New team and individual rankings will be released on Feb. 26.
Following the St. Mary's match this Sunday, the Bruins will get a week off from dual-match competition, as several players will be taking part in the 124th Pacific Coast Doubles Championships, Feb. 28-March 3, at the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club. The event, which is considered an open-level tournament and not an ITA sanctioned event, features many high-level juniors and former college standouts. The five teams that UCLA is sending to the event are:
Marcos Giron/Dennis Novikov
Adrien Puget/Karue Sell
Alex Brigham/Dennis Mkrtchian
Maxime Tabatruong/Clay Thompson
