LOS ANGELES – The 35th-ranked Cardinal was able to jump out to an early lead for the second consecutive match, but 15th-ranked UCLA proved to be too much in singles as Stanford fell 4-2 Saturday afternoon at the Sunset Canyon Tennis Courts.
Stanford (6-3) was dominant in doubles again with David Wilczynski and Brandon Sutter giving the Cardinal an early advantage as the duo put away their Bruin opponents with a quick 6-1 win. UCLA (8-3) answered at the No. 1 position with a 6-2 win of their own before Michael Genender and Sameer Kumar came in clutch with a 6-4 win at No. 2 to give Stanford the 1-0 lead.
Singles started off strong for Stanford with Brandon Sutter upsetting No. 116 Maxime Cressy at the six spot in straight sets to make it 2-0. UCLA started its fight back with the 45th-ranked Martin Redlicki besting Sameer Kumar in the No. 2 position after a hard-found 6-2, 7-5 match.
David Wilczynski started off strong at No. 5 taking the first set 6-1, but Austin Rapp was able to rally back for two 6-4 wins to make it 2-2. Michael Genender took on Evan Zhu at No. 3 and fell in the first set, but answered with a 6-4 win to push it to three where the Bruin ripped to a 6-1 to put UCLA on the cusp.
Tom Fawcett saw a slow start as he fell in the first set at No. 1 before a gritty fight back in the second set sent it to three where the Cardinal was edging away from the 10th-ranked Gage Brymer. The match wouldn't come to fruition however, as Jack Barber fell in a three set match at No. 4 to give UCLA the clincher.
The Cardinal will take a break from dual action next week as it travels to the Pacific Coast Doubles tournament in La Jolla, Calif. The tournament begins Thursday, March 2.
No. 15 UCLA 4, No. 35 Stanford 2
DOUBLES
(1) #24 Redlicki/Zhu (UCLA) d. Fawcett/Goldberg (STAN)- 6-2
(2) Kumar/Genender (STAN) def. Cressy/Brymer (UCLA)- 6-4
(3) Sutter/Wilczynski (STAN) def. Ben Goldberg/Rapp (UCLA)- 6-1
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2
SINGLES
(1) #10 Gage Brymer (UCLA) vs. #12 Tom Fawcett (STAN) 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 2-4, unfinished
(2) #45 Martin Redlicki (UCLA) def. Sameer Kumar (STAN) 6-2, 7-5
(3) Evan Zhu (UCLA) def. #73 Michael Genender (STAN) 6-3, 4-6, 6-1
(4) Logan Staggs (UCLA) def. #77 Jack Barber (STAN) 6-4, 6-7 (3-7), 6-4
(5) Austin Rapp (UCLA) def. David Wilczynski (STAN) 1-6, 6-4, 6-4
(6) Brandon Sutter (STAN) def. #116 Maxime Cressy (UCLA) 6-2, 6-3
Order of Finish: 6, 2, 5, 3, 4