Sophomore Mackie McDonald and senior Dennis Mkrtchian were each eliminated in the first round of the NCAA tennis singles tournament Wednesday.
McDonald, the nation’s No. 3 singles player, was upset 6-0, 6-2 in the first round of the NCAA tennis singles tournament Wednesday by Texas’ Lloyd Glasspool, ranked No. 42 in the country. McDonald was playing his first match since defeating No. 1-ranked Axel Alvarez of Oklahoma last week in the Bruins’ round-of-16 loss to the Sooners.
After starting the season ranked No. 7, McDonald ascended to No. 3 by posting a 14-1 dual-match record at No. 1 singles this year. His only loss came to No. 2-ranked Julian Lenz of Baylor in February.
Mkrtchian, ranked No. 36 in the nation, fell in three sets to No. 14 Mikelis Libietis of Tennessee.
The Bruins’ early exits from the singles tournament mean UCLA won’t defend the singles title that junior Marcos Giron won last year before leaving for the professional ranks.
McDonald and freshman Martin Redlicki, UCLA’s top doubles team, will compete in the first round of the doubles tournament Thursday against LSU’s Boris Arias and Jordan Daigle.
Glasspool will face No. 27 Ronnie Schneider of North Carolina in the second round on Thursday and Libietis will face No. 58 Maxime Tchoutakian of Baylor.
Compiled by Matt Cummings, Bruin Sports reporter.