The UCLA men’s golf team, ranked No. 21 nationally, secured a victory over No. 24 USC on the first day of the Copper Cup in Orange County, California. The win advances UCLA to the first-place match against No. 30 Arizona.
UCLA finished its opening day with seven wins, one halved match, and three losses out of 11 total matches, earning a score of 7.5 to 3.5 over USC. The competition format included both alternate shot matches in the morning and singles matches in the afternoon.
In the morning session, UCLA won all three alternate shot matches and played one singles match. During the afternoon session, which featured seven singles matches, UCLA claimed four victories.
Arizona advanced to face UCLA after defeating No. 7-ranked Arizona State by winning seven of eight singles matches and one of four alternate shot contests earlier in the tournament.
UCLA Head Coach Armen Kirakossian commented on his team’s performance: “It was just a really fun day, especially when you’re able to beat your rival school and to do it in that fashion. What stood out the most today was our guys’ composure and ability to maintain their energy throughout the day. It’s a long day. You’re talking about 36 holes. You have two different formats, playing with alternate shot in the morning and singles matches in the afternoon. Any time that you go head-to-head with an opponent, there is ego and pride on the line.
“I’m proud of the way our guys competed during the entire day. They stuck to our gameplan and our keys, and they played some really exceptional golf, especially in the afternoon. Honestly, we were a little sloppy in the alternate shot and we pulled out some matches late. That helps us build some momentum into the afternoon, and then we had some exceptional performances.
“Kyle An had a really low round in his match and he ended up winning four and three. Alex Papayoanou played an exceptional match against a really difficult opponent who pulled out from off the green three times, and Alex was able to stay in that match and have a chance at the end, and halving it. Proud of him for that. But you have moments when you’re in match play because you can’t play defense in golf, so you are just at the whim of your opponent sometimes. Alex weathered that very well. I’m really proud of him. It’s a super fun event and our guys are fired up to have an opportunity to win the trophy tomorrow and we’ll be going up against a very formidable team in Arizona, who just beat a powerhouse in Arizona State. Arizona has a really great team. It’s going to be a tough one for us, but we are looking forward to the challenge.”
The Bruins will compete against Arizona for first place as The Copper Cup continues.
