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NCAA Quarterfinals: UCLA Gets a Rematch with Oklahoma

A year ago, UCLA's season ended with a loss to the Sooners in the NCAA Tournament. The Bruins get a chance to avenge that loss today.

By Bruinette88
@UCLATennis

NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals

#2 UCLA Men's Tennis (25-2)

Opponent: # 10 Oklahoma (17-10)

When: 2:00 PM PDT, Sunday, May 22, 2016

Where: Michael D Case Tennis Center, Tulsa, OK

Audio: None

Video: Tulsa Live Stream

Live Stats: Tulsa Live Stats

UCLA Official Preview | UCLA Notes

2016 NCAA Tournament Central | NCAA Tournament Bracket

The second-ranked UCLA Bruins will battle the tenth-ranked Oklahoma Sooners this afternoon in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals. The match is being played in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

These two teams last met in the Sweet Sixteen of the 2015 NCAA Tournament. The Bruins lost 4-3 that occasion, and almost all of the participants that day are back for the rematch.

The Sooners will probably prove to be a very difficult opponent for the Bruins. In addition to holding what is essentially the home court advantage, Oklahoma has been playing terrific tennis of late. The Sooners swept UT Arlington in the first round of the tourney before eliminating Oregon in a second round contest. Then, in their Round of 16 match on Friday, Oklahoma swept six-seed Wake Forest.

UCLA had to work a lot harder in its Sweet 16 match against Stanford. For the fourth time this season, the Bruins dropped the doubles point to the Cardinal. And for the fourth time this season, UCLA battled back to win the match, but it wasn't easy.

Mackie McDonald started the fight back with a 6-1, 6-2 victory on court 1. Martin Redlicki claimed UCLA's second point of the dual with a 7-5, 6-2 win on court 2. Gage Brymer earned UCLA's third point of the day when he won in straight sets, 7-5, 6-3.

Then the outcome of the match became less certain. Joseph Di Giulio lost his dual on court 6 in straight sets, cutting UCLA's lead to a single point. Karue Sell finally secured the victory with a tough, three-set victory 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-0.

As good as Stanford is, Oklahoma is clearly a step-up in class. The Bruins have their work cut out for them today.

Here are the likely lineups today for both teams:

UCLA Bruins

SINGLES

  1. #6 Mackenzie McDonald
  2. #38 Martin Redlicki
  3. #58 Gage Brymer
  4. #101 Karue Sell
  5. Logan Staggs
  6. Joseph Di Giulio

DOUBLES

  1. #2 Mackenzie McDonald/Martin Redlicki
  2. Joseph Di Giulio/Karue Sell
  3. Maxime Cressy/Austin Rapp

Oklahoma Sooners

SINGLES

  1. #97 Andrew Harris
  2. #24 Axel Alvarez
  3. #82 Spencer Papa
  4. #61 Alex Ghilea
  5. Florin Bragusi
  6. Andre Biro

DOUBLES

  1. #25 Axel Alvarez/Andrew Harris
  2. Alex Ghilea/Spencer Papa
  3. Andre Biro/Maxime Mora

Considering how evenly matched these two teams are, today's match could well be decided in the first 30 minutes in the doubles competition. Unfortunately, doubles hasn't been a strength for UCLA this season,

If UCLA is going to advance to the Final Four, it will have to do well on courts 1-3 in singles. If the Bruins can't win two of those three matches, their season will once again end against Oklahoma.

Go BRUINS!

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