LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The fourth-ranked UCLA men's tennis team hosts crosstown rival No. 13 USC on Tuesday afternoon. The nonconference clash is slated for 2:30 p.m. at the Los Angeles Tennis Center.
The Bruins (9-2) are fresh off a hard fought 4-3 win over No 29 Stanford. After dropping the doubles point, UCLA rallied to win three straight singles matches. No. 94 Karue Sell evened the score with a straight-set win over No. 88 Sameer Kumar, then No. 19 Mackenzie McDonald broke fourth-ranked Tom Fawcett on match point to put the Bruins on top. After dropping the first set on court 2, No. 36 Martin Redlicki rallied to win two straight and give UCLA a commanding 3-1 lead. Stanford fought back, however, to even the score at 3-3. Logan Staggs secured the win for the Bruins when he took down No. 114 Maciek Romanowicz in straights on court 5.
UCLA is led by the usual suspects in singles, with McDonald at the helm. The junior has a 6-1 dual match record and is 5-1 against ranked players—most notably knocking off No. 4 Fawcett and formerly No. 8 Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU). Redlicki has compiled a 7-2 record, while No. 46 Gage Brymer has tallied a 6-5 mark. Playing in the No. 3 and 4 spots, Sell is undefeated in dual match play with a 3-0 mark against ranked players this spring.
In doubles, the third-ranked duo of McDonald and Redlicki are 6-1, including four wins over ranked opponents. The No. 60 pair of Brymer and Austin Rapp have compiled a 6-1 record at doubles Nos. 2 and 3.
Scouting the Trojans
USC (7-2) also returns from the Bay Area with a win over Stanford. The Trojans lost the doubles point, but rattled off five straight singles wins to register a 5-2 victory over the Cardinal. No. 65 Max De Vroome pulled off the biggest upset of the match when he toppled fourth-ranked Fawcett in a tight three setter on court 1. The Trojans currently have four players ranked nationally in singles—No. 56 Logan Smith, No. 65 de Vroome, No. 67 Nick Crystal, and No. 92 Jake DeVine.
Live stats for Tuesday's match can be accessed by clicking here. For the latest information on the UCLA men's tennis team, please visit the team's Twitter account @uclatennis.