Men’s tennis hosts No. 8 USC on Wednesday

The UCLA men’s tennis team (5-1) welcomes 8USC (7-3) to the Los Angeles Tennis Center on Wednesday at 3:00 PM PT for the latest chapter in the crosstown rivalry. The Bruins will attempt to take the field for the first time since Feb. 11 after rain postponed a Feb. 24 home game against Gonzaga. UCLA will then head south for its annual visit to the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club in La Jolla, Calif., for the Pacific Coast Doubles Championship, which begins Friday and runs through Sunday.

FOLLOW LIVE

Fans unable to attend UCLA men’s home games in person can still watch the live stream. Live streaming and live scores are available for all matches played at the Los Angeles Tennis Center HERE.

THE LAST TIME

UCLA’s home game against Gonzaga, scheduled for Friday, February 24, was postponed due to rain in the forecast. A make-up date has not been announced, but the programs are trying to move the competition later this season. The Bruins picked up their most recent result, defeating UC Irvine 6-1 at the Los Angeles Tennis Center on February 11th. It was a two-win day. Patrick Playwho limited his performance with a decision at the top. Jeffrey Fradkin and Aadarsh ​​Tripathi also won on the fours and singles courts, and the pair teamed up to seal the first point of the day for UCLA. Enrique Luque Rico picked up the only win of the day for the Anteaters at the end of the contest.

UCLA vs. USC

UCLA holds an 87-57 advantage in its all-time series with USC. The Bruins dropped a 4-0 decision to the Trojans on Jan. 29 in the ITA Kickoff Weekend championship match at the David X. Marks Tennis Stadium. with UCLA Patrick Play closing in on his own win, Ryan Colby took the overall win on Court 6. Peter Makk and Wojtek Marek also won in singles, helping USC clinch the ITA National Team Indoor Championship berth in the process.

PACIFIC COAST DOUBLE CHAMPION

The 133rd edition of the Pacific Coast Doubles Championship begins Friday and concludes Sunday at the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club in La Jolla, California. The Bruins contingent is back in action, looking to emulate the success of the 2022 squad. Drew Baird and Alexander Hoogmartens beat his teammates Stefan Leustian and Bryce Pereira In the final 6-2, 6-4. For more information on Pacific Coast Doubles, click HERE.

IN FRANCE

Winner of five consecutive decisions all with top 50 matches Alexander Hoogmartens is ranked No. 48 in the latest ITA National Singles Rankings, released on February 21. She is now ranked in the top 80 nationally in every singles ranking as of 12/8/2021. Hoogmartens achieved the best position of his career. As of February 15, 8 UCLA is ranked No. 27 in the latest ITA Team Rankings, also released on February 21. All rankings, including the team’s No. 1 ranking, have been computerized for the first time this season. The top 25 was previously determined by coaches voting.

CLINCH BELL
Azuma Visaya (Pepperdine and Hawai’i) has two wins this season and leads the Bruins. Gianluca Ballotta (Portland), James Revelli (vs. Memphis) and Patrick Play (UC Irvine) have each posted a fourth point once a year.

BLAME IT ON THE HOOGIE

Every Alexander Hoogmartens the last five wins have come against opponents ranked in the top 50 of the ITA National Singles Ranking. He is 7-3 overall against nationally ranked foes in 2022-23. Hoogmartens’ last four singles wins have also come in straight sets, starting with a 6-3, 6-2 (Jan. 13) win over Texas A&M’s No. 43 Trey Hilderbrand at the Sherwood Collegiate Cup in Thousand Oaks, California. To the beginning. in the two-match campaign, Hoogmartens has knocked off No. 41 Andre Ilagan of Hawaii (Jan. 20, 6-4, 6-1), No. 31 Daniel De Jonge of Pepperdine (Jan. 21, 6-1, 6-). 3), No. 39 Pablo Alemany of Memphis (Jan. 28, 6-1, 6-4) and No. 47 Sema Pankin of Portland (Feb. 4, 6-4, 6-3).

HOOGMARTENS HONORED BY THE PAC-12
Alexander Hoogmartens The conference announced Tuesday that he was named the Pac-12 Player of the Week for Weeks 16-22. January. Hoogmartens defended his spot at the top of the singles team emphatically as the Bruins opened their season with a home doubleheader win over Hawaii and No. 19 Pepperdine. The sophomore beat No. 41 Andre Ilagan of the Rainbow Warriors (6-4, 6-1) and No. 31 Daniel De Jonge of the Waves (6-1, 6-3) to extend his 2022-23 streak against players. ranked in the ITA’s top 50 five times since the fall. Hoogmartens had a hand in each of UCLA’s first two points in a 4-3 win over Pepperdine. Timothy Li beat Maxi Homberg and Eero Vasa in the semi-final 10-8. The Court 2 decision came after two other doubles results were split. The Pac-12 Player of the Week honor represents the second of Hoogmartens’ career and the 48th in the history of the UCLA men’s tennis program.

AUTUMN USE

The Bruins participated in five tournaments, including two national events before the New Year. Alexander Hoogmartens posted a team-high seven singles victories, including two against nationally ranked opponents. He reached the singles final of the ITA Southwest Regional Championships, defeating No. 46 Gustaf Strom and No. 45 Tim Zeitvogel of Pepperdine along the way. Jeffrey Fradkin and Patrick Play had five doubles each to lead the team. Fradkin and Aadarsh ​​Tripathi teamed up for the UCSB Classic championship. Hoogmartens and Zahraj combined to reach the main draw of the ITA All-American Championships.

2021-22 REVIEW

The 2021-22 Bruins went 13-12, but their season fell short of the NCAA team tournament. UCLA cruised past top-ranked Utah in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 Championships, but ended up with a lopsided 4-3 decision in its last-four game against Washington. The Bruins won six of their last eight games. Separately, Alexander Hoogmartens He became the first UCLA freshman to make the Pac-12 All-Conference First Team since Daniel Kosakowski in 2011. Patrick Play earned honorable mention recognition. Hoogmartens qualified for the singles tournament at the NCAA Championships. He won a team record 14 doubles while playing with three different partners. Stefan Leustian led all Bruins with 19 singles wins.

WHO’S NEW?

UCLA’s roster has Freshmen Gianluca Ballotta, Aadarsh ​​Tripathi, Emon van Loben Sels and Azuma Visaya. Ballotta (Lima, Peru) has a career-high ITF junior ranking of 42 and has qualified for the singles and doubles draws at the 2022 US Open Junior Championships. Tripathi (Pleasanton, Calif.), a Blue Chip by TennisRecruiting.net, won the boys’ 16 doubles title alongside van Loben Sels at the 2019 USTA National Level 3: Coyote Cup in Scottsdale, Ariz. Van Loben Sels, also a Blue Chip talent, teamed with Ethan Schiffman to win the Boys 16 Doubles Championship at the 2021 Easter Bowl in San Diego. Visaya, another Blue Chip prospect and Hawaii’s top player, won the singles and doubles titles at several USTA events in her home state.

BRUINS ON TOUR

Former UCLA standouts continue to become household names in the professional ranks, with Maxime Cressy, Marcos Giron, Mackenzie McDonald, and Jean-Julien Rojer making notable appearances at Grand Slams and the ATP Tour. Cressy won his first ATP Tour title when he defeated Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik at the 2022 Hall of Fame Open in Newport. RI Giron was the No. 2 singles seed at the 2022 San Diego Open. McDonald opened 2023 by defeating Australian Open top seed and defending champion Rafael Nadal in three sets. Rojer won his fourth Grand Slam title at Roland-Garros in 2022 when he teamed up with Marcelo Arevalo to defeat Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek in the final. Rojer also won the 2023 Delray Beach Open doubles crown alongside Arevalo earlier this month. Cressy (36, career-high 31 in 2022), McDonald (62, career-high 48 in 2022) and Giron (69, career-high 49 in 2022) are currently among the top 70 singles players on the ATP. Rojer is number 5 on the doubles list.

SECOND MARTIN POWER SERVICE

The head coach Billy Martin is his 30th year at the helm of the UCLA men’s tennis program, and this season marks 40 years since he joined the staff of friend, mentor and UCLA Athletic Hall of Famer Glenn Bassett. Martin, who passed Bassett to become the program’s all-time leader in head coaching wins in the 2019 season, is the longest tenured active coach at UCLA. He has a record of 635-148 (.811) at the helm. He guided the 2005 Bruins to their 16th NCAA team championship, and only five Martin-led teams have finished outside the top five at the season-ending NCAA Championships. Benjamin Kohlloeffel (2006), Marcos Giron (2014) and Mackenzie McDonald (2016) have earned NCAA singles titles on Martin’s watch, while UCLA has become a frequent landing spot for doubles champions recently. In addition to 1996 winners Justin Gimelstob and Srdjan Muskatirovic, three of the last six title holders (McDonald/Martin Redlicki in 2016, Redlicki/Evan Zhu in 2018 and Maxime Cressy/Keegan Smith in 2019) have called Westwood home.