LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The fourth-ranked UCLA men's tennis team joins forces with the 22nd-ranked women's tennis team to host a doubleheader on Saturday. Following the 10 a.m. tilt between the Bruin men and UC Irvine, the UCLA women take on top-ranked California at 1 p.m.
The Bruin men (7-2) return to action after a successful outing at the ITA National Men's Team Indoor Championship in Charlottesville, Va. Although their run for the title was cut short by seventh-ranked North Carolina in the semifinals, the Bruins notched two big wins prior to the loss. In the first round, UCLA squared off with a familiar foe in 11th-ranked Georgia. For the second time this season, the Bruins topped the Bulldogs. From there, UCLA went on to upset third-ranked Texas A&M in the quarterfinals. After a back-and-forth battle that gave the Aggies a 2-1 advantage, the Bruins rallied to take three straight matches to clinch the win. No. 80 Gage Brymer delivered the knockout punch on court 2 when he pulled off the upset against No. 39 Shane Vinsant in three sets.
The men's team is led by the usual suspects. No. 34 Mackenzie McDonald boasts a 4-1 dual-match singles record and a 3-1 mark against ranked opponents. The junior did not drop a match at the ITA Team Indoor Championship last week. Although McDonald dropped the first set to 22nd-ranked Wayne Montgomery of Georgia in the first round, the UCLA junior coasted past his opponent in the second and third sets to clinch the match for the Bruins. Martin Redlicki and Gage Brymer are also ranked nationally in singles. No. 37 Redlicki is 5-2 in singles this spring, while No. 80 Brymer has compiled a 5-4 record.
On the women's side, the Bruins (5-2) suffered a tough loss to No. 15 Pepperdine on Thursday afternoon. After dropping the doubles point, UCLA failed to find its groove as the Waves registered three straight-set wins in singles to clinch the match. Despite the loss, the Bruins notched a big win in doubles as Catherine Harrison and Kyle McPhillips downed the No. 3 pair in the nation. McPhillips captured the Bruins' lone point of the day when she defeated Laura Gulbe on court 2 in a third set tiebreaker. Last to finish, No. 18 Harrison fell in a heartbreaker to sixth-ranked Luisa Stefani on court 1. After dropping the first set, Harrison rallied to force a third. The tiebreaker went down to the wire, but Stefani held on for the 10-8 win.
Scouting the Anteaters
UC Irvine (5-3) is led by standout sophomore Sebastian Heim. Ranked No. 67 in the ITA Singles Rankings out this week, Heim leads the squad with a 6-0 record in dual-match singles. All six of his wins have been sweeps, including an upset of No. 35 Uros Petronijevic of USD and a pair of competitive showings against two other top players in the nation.
The Anteaters are fresh off a 4-3 loss to New Mexico. Before facing the Bruins on Saturday, UCI squares off with Northern Arizona at home on Friday.
UCLA is 36-2 all-time against UC Irvine. In their last meeting, the Bruins blanked the Anteaters 4-0 in the 2015 season opener.
Scouting the Golden Bears
Fresh off capturing the title at the ITA National Women's Team Indoor Championship, California (6-0) comes south to take on the L.A. schools. The Bears have four players ranked nationally in singles—No. 5 Klara Fabikova, No. 13 Maegan Manasse, No. 102 Olivia Hauger, and No. 121 Denise Starr. In doubles, Manasse and Starr are the second-ranked pair in the nation.
Last time out, Hauger defeated North Carolina's Marika Akkerman to clinch then No. 6 California's first title at the ITA National Women's Team Indoor Championship on Feb. 8 at the University of Wisconsin's Nielsen Tennis Stadium. The fourth-seeded Golden Bears wrapped up the victory over the third-seeded, fifth-ranked Tar Heels.
UCLA is 40-33 all-time against California. In their last meeting, the Bruins fell to the Golden Bears 4-3.
Live stats for Saturday's matches can be accessed by clicking here. For the latest information on the UCLA men's and women's tennis teams, please visit the teams' Twitter accounts @uclatennis and @uclawtennis.