PALO ALTO, Calif. – The fourth-ranked UCLA men's tennis team travels to the Bay Area this week where it will square off with No. 29 Stanford.  The match takes place at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 27, at the Taube Family Tennis Stadium.   

The Bruins are fresh off a 7-0 rout of the UC Irvine Anteaters.  UCLA took the first set on all six courts, and only one match went to three sets.  Prior to hosting the Anteaters, the Bruins had 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 downed No. 11 Georgia before ousting third-ranked Texas A&M in the quarterfinals. 

The UCLA men are well represented in the latest ITA Rankings (Feb. 23).  In singles, Mackenzie McDonald punches in at No. 19, followed by Martin Redlicki (No. 36), Gage Brymer (No. 46), and Karue Sell (No. 94).  McDonald and Redlicki are now the third-ranked doubles team in the nation, leading the Bruins with a 5-1 record and a 4-1 mark against ranked opponents.  Austin Rapp and Brymer check in at No. 60 with a 6-1 dual match record.    

Scouting the Cardinal

Last time out, Stanford (5-4) nearly erased a 3-0 deficit against then No. 18 California.  After dropping the doubles point and two quick matches in singles, the Cardinal rallied to tie the score at 3-3.  The deciding point came down to court 6, where a third set showdown ensued between Cal's Mads Engsted and Stanford's Michael Genender.  Genender won the first two games of the third set before Engsted answered with five in a row.  The momentum shifted back to Genender, who knotted it up at 5-5, before Engsted closed it out. 

Stanford is led by fourth-ranked Tom Fawcett in singles.  The Cardinal sophomore boasts an 8-0 dual-match singles' record, which includes wins over five nationally ranked opponents.  Joining Fawcett in the ITA Singles Rankings are No. 48 David Wilczynski, No. 88 Sameer Kumar, No. 102 Nolan Paige, No. 112 Genender, and No. 114 Maciek Romanowicz.  In doubles, Stanford currently has one ranked pair—No. 48 Romanowicz and Paige.    

Prior to facing the Bruins, Stanford hosts USC on Friday, Feb. 26.  

Live scoring and video for Saturday's showdown is available here.