Nov. 9, 2012

LOS ANGELES - Sophomore Dennis Novikov won two singles matches and one doubles match on Friday, keeping the Bruins in contention for a title at the 56th Southern California Intercollegiate Championships at UCLA's Los Angeles Tennis Center.

Due to rain in the Los Angeles Area on Thursday, Novikov was forced to play two matches on Friday. He opened up the day with a 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 win over Cal Poly's Marco Comuzzo. He then moved into the quarterfinals by downing San Diego's Victor Pugliese, 6-4, 6-2. Novikov, who is seeded No. 2, next faces USC's Michael Grant on Saturday at 11:00 a.m.

Both Karue Sell and Warren Hardie dropped second-round matches on Friday, with Sell falling 6-1, 6-4 to top-seeded Andre Dome of Cal Poly, and Hardie suffering a 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 loss to UCSB's Benjamin Recknagel.

In doubles action, Novikov and Sell downed Nick Northcott and Felix Van Kann of LMU, 8-0. They will next face Azusa-Pacific's Jochem Hoefnagels and Frederik Wilkens on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. Novikov and Sell are the top-seeded team in the draw.

Complete results from the tournament can be found HERE.

USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships
Bruin sophomore Marcos Giron's run at the 2012 USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships came to an end on Friday, as he fell to fourth-seeded Henrique Cuhna of Duke in the quarterfinals at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y.

Giron, who was seeded fifth, began the day with a 2-6, 7-5, 6-3 win over Minnesota's Leandro Toledo. His match with Cuhna, however, didn't go as well, as he lost 6-7, 7-5, 6-3.

Giron's loss ends UCLA's involvement in the tournament, as sophomore Dennis Mkrtchian was beaten in Thursday's opening round.

More information about the tournament can be found HERE.