Men's Tennis Downs Eastern Kentucky, 4-0 in NCAA First Round Bruins to face San Diego on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
Adrien Puget

Adrien Puget

May 12, 2012

LOS ANGELES - The fourth-seeded UCLA men's tennis team cruised in the first round of the NCAA Championships on Saturday, registering a 4-0 victory over Eastern Kentucky at the Los Angeles Tennis Center. With the win, the Bruins (23-3) advance to Sunday's second round and will take on San Diego (18-9) at 1:00 p.m. The Toreros were 4-0 winners over Fresno State earlier in the day.

UCLA secured a 1-0 lead heading into singles play by taking two quick wins in doubles play. Marcos Giron and Warren Hardie led things off for the Bruins, downing Jan Dombrowski and Parul Verma, 8-3 at court No. 3. UCLA's 85th-ranked Nick Meister and Dennis Novikov then finished things off with another 8-3 win over Philip Janz and Niklas Schroeder at court No. 2.

Sophomore Adrien Puget would put UCLA ahead 2-0 once singles began as he didn't lose a single game in a 6-0, 6-0 win over Joao Maio at court No. 5. Dennis Mkrtchian then brought the Bruins within a point of clinching with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Emilio Piriz at the No. 6 spot.

Novikov got the clinching win for the Bruins at the No. 3 position when he overcame Janz, 6-4, 6-0.

When play was suspended, both Meister and Giron were leading their matches at court Nos. 2 and 4, respectively.

Sunday marks the first meeting between UCLA and San Diego this season. First serve is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.

2012 NCAA Men's Tennis Regionals (First Round)
#4 UCLA 4, Eastern Kentucky 0
May 12, 2012 at Los Angeles, CA (Los Angeles Tennis Center)

Doubles
1. #44 Alex Brigham/Puget (UCLA) vs. Kilentovsky/Carles Pons (EKU) 5-5, unfinished
2. #85 Meister/Novikov (UCLA) def. Janz/Schroeder (EKU) 8-3
3. Giron/Warren Hardie (UCLA) def. Jan Dombrowski/Verma (EKU) 8-3
UCLA Wins Doubles Point

Singles
1. #62 Clay Thompson (UCLA) vs. Hugo Kilentovsky (EKU) 1-6, 3-3, unfinished
2. #16 Nick Meister (UCLA) vs. Niklas Schroeder (EKU) 6-0, 4-3, unfinished
3. Dennis Novikov (UCLA) def. Philip Janz (EKU) 6-4, 6-0
4. #84 Marcos Giron (UCLA) vs. Parul Verma (EKU) 6-1, 1-3, unfinished
5. #46 Adrien Puget (UCLA) def. Joao Maio (EKU) 6-0, 6-0
6. Dennis Mkrtchian (UCLA) def. Emilio Piriz (EKU) 6-3, 6-2

Match Notes
Eastern Kentucky 19-10
UCLA 23-3; National ranking #4
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (5,6,3)

Bank of the West CLick for Bruin Video

UCLA Schedule