TENNIS / NCAA MEN’S CHAMPIONSHIPS : No. 2 UCLA Eliminates USD, 5-1

The second-ranked UCLA men’s tennis team defeated No. 17 University of San Diego, 5-1, in the second round of the NCAA Championships Saturday at Indian Wells.

USD’s Jose Luis Noriega, ranked sixth in the country, beat Jason Netter, 6-3, 6-3, at No. 1 singles for USD’s only victory.

UCLA (26-3) advanced to the third round today. USD finished 22-6.

“I was disappointed we didn’t win any of the four, five or six singles matches,” USD Coach Ed Collins said. “If we had won one of those, and with Noriega winning at No. 1, that would have helped our momentum.”

Top-ranked and undefeated Tennessee lost the first two singles matches but rebounded to beat No. 19 UC Irvine, 5-2, and move into the quarterfinals.

Also in the second round, No. 3 Stanford, the two-time defending champion, breezed past Oklahoma State, 5-1; No. 4 Georgia eliminated No. 23 Northwestern from its first NCAA tournament, 5-2; Texas upset No. 5 Pepperdine, 5-3; No. 8 and host Southern Cal beat South Carolina, 5-2; Miami, Fla., beat No. 15 Arizona State, and No. 6 California beat No. 11 LSU, 5-3, in a match that lasted 6 1/2 hours.

Tennessee was one of the 12 teams that drew first-round byes.

“We were concerned before the match because we knew Irvine is a very good team,” Tennessee Coach Mike DePalmer said. “We hadn’t played in three weeks. When we were up, 4-2, after singles, I was a little bit more at ease because we haven’t lost three doubles matches in about two years.”

The only doubles match the Volunteers needed was at No. 2, where Coenie de Villiers and John Gibson beat Carsten Hoffman and Mike Roberts, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2. The other two doubles matches were suspended when the Volunteers clinched the match.