Upset Bid Falls Short Against No. 22 UCLA

Sunday, March 1

Eugene, OR

12:00 PM

University of Oregon

UCLA

Photo by: Nicole Kasson

03/01/20 | Men's Tennis

Box Score | UCLA 4, ORE 3

By: Zach Lawson

EUGENE, Ore. – The Oregon men's tennis team picked up three wins over ranked opponents Sunday afternoon but it wasn't enough in a 4-3 setback to No. 22-ranked UCLA. Three-set wins by Emmanuel Coste and Ty Gentry at No. 2 and 3 singles, respectively, evened the match at 3-all but the visitors got the deciding point in a third-set tiebreaker for the win.

How It Happened: Oregon (9-5, 0-2) was up 1-0 after securing the doubles point against the Bruins. Riki Oshima and Jesper Klöv-Nilsson were the first off the court with a quick 6-1 triumph at the No. 3 spot. The matches at No. 1 and 2 doubles were tied at 4-all including the top-25 matchup on court one between Gentry and Joshua Charlton and the Bruins' Keegan Smith and Govind Nanda.

Gentry and Charlton, ranked No. 11 in the country, prevailed with a 6-4 victory to clinch the opening point for the home team. Smith and Nanda entered the weekend as the No. 24 doubles team in the country. Gentry and Charlton are now 15-4 this season including an 8-2 mark in dual play.

In the back-and-forth match that lasted nearly four hours, took a turn in favor of the opponent when UCLA (8-4, 2-0) won the first three singles matches. The Bruins posted wins at No. 1, 5 and 6 singles for the 3-1 advantage. The remaining matches were all decided in three sets.

Gentry snapped a three-match skid with a 7-5, 4-6, 7-5 win over No. 124 Drew Baird at No. 3 singles. The victory also extended the match with all focus going to Coste playing Nanda, the No. 28 singles player in the country. The UO junior rattled off the final six games of the match for a 7-6(7), 2-6, 6-3 triumph over Nanda, his first win over a ranked opponent in five tries this season.

The final came down to the No. 4 singles match between Oshima and Ben Goldberg. Oshima won the opening set and led 5-2 in the second before Goldberg responded, winning tiebreakers in the final two sets to stave off the Ducks' upset bid.

#22 UCLA 4, Oregon 3
Doubles
1. #11 Joshua Charlton/Ty Gentry (ORE) def. #24 Keegan Smith/Govind Nanda (UCLA) – 6-4
2. Brandon Lam/Charles Roberts (ORE) vs Drew Baird/Connor Rapp (UCLA) – 5-6 unfinished
3. Jesper Klöv-Nilsson/Riki Oshima (ORE) def. Bryce Pereira/Patrick Zahraj (UCLA) – 6-1
Order of finish: 3, 1

Singles
1. #8 Keegan Smith (UCLA) def. #19 Joshua Charlton (ORE) – 6-2, 6-2
2. Emmanuel Coste (ORE) def. #28 Govind Nanda (UCLA) – 7-6(7), 2-6, 6-3
3. Ty Gentry (ORE) def. #124 Drew Baird (UCLA) – 7-5, 4-6, 7-5
4. Ben Goldberg (UCLA) def. Riki Oshima (ORE) – 5-7, 7-6(5), 7-6(1)
5. Patrick Zahraj (UCLA) def. Luke Vandecasteele (ORE) – 7-5, 7-6(3)
6. Mathew Tsolakyan (UCLA) def. Brandon Lam (ORE) – 6-3, 1-6, 7-6(4)
Order of finish: 1, 6, 5, 3, 2, 4*
(* clincher)

Up Next: The Ducks' five-match home stand continues Friday, March 6 against New Mexico. First serve is set for 5:30 p.m. (PT) at the UO Student Tennis Center. Oregon returns to Pac-12 play Sunday, March 22 against Utah.

For more information about Oregon men's tennis, follow @OregonMTennis on Instagram and Twitter.