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No. 23 Men's Tennis Beats USC for Fifth Consecutive Win

by uclabruins.com
Apr 16, 2024
Gianluca Ballotta

LOS ANGELES – The No. 23 UCLA men's tennis team beat USC by a score of 4-2 in Pac-12 Conference action Tuesday at Los Angeles Tennis Center. The Bruins previously their crosstown rival in non-conference play earlier in March.

UCLA (12-6, 4-2 Pac-12) earned its fifth victory in a row. Gianluca Ballotta clinched the overall result – the junior's first deciding win of the year. Also triumphant in singles play for the Bruins were Spencer Johnson and Govind Nanda. Both also contributed to UCLA collecting the doubles point. USC (6-15, 1-5) never led, but twice pulled even with victories by Volodymyr Iakubenko and Karl Lee.

The doubles duo of Iakubenko and Lodewijk Weststrate teamed to beat Timothy Li and Giacomo Revelli 6-2 on Court 2, leaving the Bruins no room for error. Each of the remaining courts ultimately entered a tiebreaker, starting with Court 1. Making their debut on the top court, Johnson and Emon van Loben Sels turned in a 7-6(4) win versus Lee and Samuel Rubell. That turned all eyes toward Court 3, where Nanda and Alexander Hoogmartens overcame a 2-4 deficit to force their extra time with Peter Makk and Niroop Vallabhaneni. It was again the UCLA pair prevailing, this time by a 7-3 margin. Hoogmartens/Nanda has won seven matches in a row.

The Trojans tied matters up when Lee defeated Jorge Plans Gonzalez 6-3, 6-3 on the sixth singles court. An answer came in the form of the 27th-ranked Nanda, who downed No. 78 Makk 7-5, 6-3 on Court 1. That was Nanda's fourth victory of the year opposite a nationally-ranked foe.

Iakubenko leveled the score again with his 6-4, 7-5 win against Revelli on Court 4. The Bruins responded again on the stadium courts, as reigning Pac-12 Player of the Week and 100th-ranked Spencer Johnson held off Oscar Weightman 7-6(2), 6-4 in the second spot. Johnson's seventh victory in as many finished contests was also his team-high 22nd.

Then, with Hoogmartens eyeing a win of his own on Court 3, it was Ballotta who shut the door. The sophomore from Lima, Peru seized the first three games of the final set and broke Rubell's serve to seal his 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 victory, starting a celebration on Court 5.

UCLA completes its regular-season Pac-12 slate Friday, when it visits Utah. First serve from George S. Eccles Tennis Center is set for 2 p.m. PT. The Bruins then return home to meet UC San Diego Sunday at 12 p.m.

Tennis Match Results
USC vs UCLA
4/16/2024 at Los Angeles, CA
(Los Angeles Tennis Center)

#23 UCLA 4, #50 USC 2

Singles competition
1. #27 Govind Nanda (UCLA) def. #78 Peter Makk (USC) 7-5, 6-3
2. #100 Spencer Johnson (UCLA) def. Oscar Weightman (USC) 7-6 (7-2), 6-4
3. Alexander Hoogmartens (UCLA) vs. Lodewijk Weststrate (USC) 6-3, 1-6, 5-4, unfinished
4. Volodymyr Iakubenko (USC) def. Giacomo Revelli (UCLA) 6-4, 7-5
5. Gianluca Ballotta (UCLA) def. Samuel Rubell (USC) 6-3, 2-6, 6-2
6. Karl Lee (USC) def. Jorge Plans Gonzalez (UCLA) 6-3, 6-3

Doubles competition
1. Spencer Johnson/Emon van Loben Sels (UCLA) def. Karl Lee/Samuel Rubell (USC) 7-6 (7-4)
2. Volodymyr Iakubenko/Lodewijk Weststrate (USC) def. Timothy Li/Giacomo Revelli (UCLA) 6-2
3. Alexander Hoogmartens/Govind Nanda (UCLA) def. Peter Makk/Niroop Vallabhaneni (USC) 7-6 (7-3)

Match Notes:
USC 6-15; National ranking #50
UCLA 12-6; National ranking #23
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (6,1,4,2,5)

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