College Tennis News - No. 2 Men's Tennis Downs No. 7 Oklahoma, 4-2

Houston, Texas -After dropping the doubles point against No. 7 Oklahoma, the second-ranked UCLA men's tennis team rallied for a 4-2 victory over the Sooners in the quarterfinals of the USTA/ITA National Team Indoors on Saturday at the Galleria Tennis and Athletic Club in Houston, Texas. The Bruins (7-0) now advance to Sunday's semifinals where they will meet No. 3 USC 3:00 p.m. (CST). The Trojans downed No. 6 Baylor, 4-2 in their quarterfinal encounter.

Saturday's match featured four of the top 5 players in the nation, headlined by top-ranked Bruin senior Clay Thompson. His match at court No. 1 against second-ranked Guillermo Alcorta figured to be a tight contest. It was anything but, with Thompson losing just two games in a 6-2, 6-0 victory. The Bruins had previously lost the doubles point so Thompson's victory evened the match at 1-1.

The Bruins then went ahead 2-1 when 51st-ranked Mackenzie McDonald posted a 6-5(3), 6-5(2) victory over 28th-ranked Andrew Harris at court No. 3. Fellow freshman Joseph Di Giulio would be next to finish, pushing UCLA's lead to 3-1 with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Peeraki Siributwong at court No. 6.

Although the Sooners (7-1) would get another point on the board with a 6-5, 6-3 win at court No. 4, the Bruins soon closed the match out when Dennis Mkrtchian downed Alex Ghilea, 6-2, 5-6(8), 6-3 at court No. 5, sending UCLA to the semifinals.

The only match on court when play was suspended was at court No. 2, where fifth-ranked Marcos Giron up was 3-2 in the third set over fourth-ranked Axel Alvarez Llamas. Giron won the first set in a tiebreaker and dropped the second 6-4.

USTA/ITA National Team Indoors
#2 UCLA 4, #7 Oklahoma 2
Feb 15, 2014 at Houston, TX (Galleria Tennis and Athletic Club)

Doubles
1. #9 Giron/McDonald (UCLA) vs. #12 Harris/Webb (OU) 3-4, unfinished
2. Alcorta/Alvarez Llamas (OU) def. Di Giulio/Thompson (UCLA) 6-1
3. Nick Papac/Siributwong (OU) def. Mkrtchian/Karue Sell (UCLA) 6-2
Oklahoma Wins Doubles Point

Singles
1. #1 Clay Thompson (UCLA) def. #2 Guillermo Alcorta (OU) 6-2, 6-0
2. #5 Marcos Giron (UCLA) vs. #4 Axel Alvarez Llamas (OU) 6-5(3), 4-6, 3-2, unfinished
3. #51 Mackenzie McDonald (UCLA) def. #28 Andrew Harris (OU) 6-5(3), 6-5(2)
4. #46 Dane Webb (OU) def. #26 Gage Brymer (UCLA) 6-5(4), 6-3
5. Dennis Mkrtchian (UCLA) def. Alex Ghilea (OU) 6-2, 5-6(8), 6-3
6. Joseph Di Giulio (UCLA) def. Peeraki Siributwong (OU) 6-4, 6-4

Match Notes
Oklahoma 7-1; National ranking #7
UCLA 7-0; National ranking #2
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (1,3,6,4,5)