UCLA

TULSA, Okla. – Sixth-ranked Mackenzie McDonald punched his ticket to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Singles Championship on Friday morning when he coasted past No. 13 Skander Mansouri in the round of 16. In doubles play, McDonald and partner Martin Redlicki also advanced to the quarterfinals.

Elite Eight!!! McDonald defeats Mansouri (Wake Forest) 6-1, 6-2 to advance to the NCAA singles quarterfinals! pic.twitter.com/PyWFMXdxrO
— UCLA Men's Tennis (@uclatennis) May 27, 2016

"It feels good to advance," said McDonald of reaching the Elite Eight. "This is just part of the process. These aren't my goals to get to the round of 16 and to quarters—I want to keep going. I want to hopefully get that wildcard and go all the way."

McDonald broke Mansouri to kick things off in the first set. At 2-1, McDonald came back from 40-0 to hold and then broke Mansouri with a forehand winner up the line to extend the lead to 4-1. The Bruin standout took the next two games to win the set, 6-1.

McDonald carried this momentum into the second set, jumping out to an early 3-0 lead. Another break and hold gave McDonald a 5-0 advantage over Mansouri. The Demon Deacon rallied, holding and then saving two match points to break McDonald's serve. Up 5-2, McDonald broke Mansouri to take the set and advance to the Elite Eight.

"I came out, knowing what I needed to do today and took care of business," said McDonald of the win. "I just took it to the guy. I played really well and moved my feet really well today."

McDonald faces second-ranked Roberto Cid of South Florida at 11 a.m. PDT on Saturday. Cid reached the quarterfinals after downing San Diego's Uros Petronijevic, 6-4, 6-3, in the round of 16.

In the doubles round of 16, second-ranked McDonald and Redlicki cruised to a straight-set win over Tennessee's Jack Schipanski and Luis Valero to advance to the quarterfinals.

"Making the quarterfinals of the NCAAs is a really big deal for anyone," said Redlicki of advancing. "If we play the way that we are capable of, I don't think it really matters who we play. I think we have a really good chance against anyone."

Redlicki's ace up the middle sends Mackie/Marty into the NCAA doubles quarterfinals with a 6-3, 6-3 victory pic.twitter.com/V5cUD7NywI
— UCLA Men's Tennis (@uclatennis) May 27, 2016

The Bruin pair will take on No. 10 Julian Cash and Arjun Kadhe of Oklahoma State at 2 p.m. PDT on Saturday. Live streaming/scoring is available here.

2016 NCAA Singles & Doubles Championship
May 25-30
Tulsa, Oklahoma (Michael D. Case Tennis Center)

Singles
Round of 64
No. 6 Mackenzie McDonald (UCLA) def. No. 42 Ryotaro Matasamura (Kentucky) 6-0, 6-2
No. 38 Martin Redlicki (UCLA) def. No. 50 Gergely Madarasz (Purdue), 6-2, 7-6(3)
Round of 32
No. 6 Mackenzie McDonald (UCLA) def. No. 35 Quentin Monaghan (Notre Dame), 6-4, 6-1
No. 3 Dominik Koepfer (Tulane) def. No. 38 Martin Redlicki (UCLA), 1-6, 6-3, 6-4
Round of 16
No. 6 Mackenzie McDonald (UCLA) def. No. 13 Skander Mansouri (Wake Forest), 6-1, 6-2

Doubles
Round of 32
No. 2 McDonald/Redlicki (UCLA) def. No. 16 Kwiatkowski/Styslinger (UVA), 6-2, 7-6(3)
Round of 16
No. 2 McDonald/Redlicki (UCLA) def. No. 20 Schipanski/ Valero (Tenn), 6-3, 6-3

McDonald Punches Ticket to Elite Eight