LOS ANGELES, Calif. – With the Pac-12 Championships only a week away, the UCLA men's and women's tennis teams gear up for their last regular season battle as they travel crosstown for a doubleheader against USC on Sunday.  Action begins with doubles at 12:30 pm PDT.  Men's singles kicks off at 1:30 pm, followed by women's singles at 3:30 pm. 

“We're really trying to generate hype for this event and get fans to come support us,” said UCLA head coach Billy Martin.  “That's one of the reasons we're doing doubles simultaneously with the women's teams, and then men's singles followed by women's singles.  This will be as exciting of a match as we've had in quite a few years, especially because the teams are fairly evenly matched.”    

“We play USC twice each season and it is always a battle,” said UCLA head coach Stella Sampras Webster.  “Every player on each team wants to win so badly, so the matches end up creating epic tennis.”   

The fourth-ranked UCLA men's tennis team (18-2, 6-0 Pac-12) looks to maintain its perfect record in conference play and to clinch the Pac-12 regular season title when it faces the ninth-ranked Trojans.  Last time out, the Bruins blanked both Arizona and No. 72 Utah on the road.  The weekend prior, UCLA closed out its home campaign with a pair of wins against the Bay Area teams.  Shaking off a slow start against No. 36 Stanford, the Bruins rattled off four straight singles wins to defeat the Cardinal, 4-1.  Logan Staggs, Karue Sell, Martin Redlicki, and Joseph Di Giulio each posted straight-set wins in the Bruins' victory.  The following day, UCLA completed the sweep when it edged No. 16 California, 4-2.  Redlicki and Sell pulled off the upsets in singles play—No. 49 Redlicki steamrolled No. 17 Andre Goransson in straights as No. 98 Sell dispatched No. 62 Oskar Wikberg in straights as well. 

The Bruins are led by Mackenzie McDonald at the top of the lineup.  Ranked eighth nationally in singles, the junior owns an 11-1 record in dual match play and is 9-1 against ranked opponents—his only loss at the hands of Virginia's Ryan Shane, ranked 11th at the time.  At singles No. 2, No. 45 Redlicki is 9-1 this spring and on a seven-match winning streak.  No. 58 Gage Brymer is 10-5 splitting time at Nos. 2 and 3, while No. 86 Sell boasts a perfect 16-0 record this spring.  In doubles play, fourth-ranked McDonald and Redlicki are 10-3 at the top of the lineup. 

“This is going to be a great match.  They're No. 9 and we're currently ranked fourth, so it will be an important match for ranking purposes.  I'm sure USC will be eager to give us some payback for the match we won at home earlier in the season.”

In their last meeting, the Bruins downed the Trojans, 5-2, at the Los Angeles Tennis Center.  USC is 15-4 on the season and 5-1 in Pac-12 play.  The Trojans currently have five players ranked nationally—No. 19 Max de Vroome, No. 43 Nick Crystal, No. 55 Logan Smith, No. 106 Jake DeVine, and No. 120 Thibault Forget.  In doubles, Nick Crystal and Laurens Verboven check in at No. 42.  The Bruins lead the Trojans 76-47 all-time.

Prior to Sunday's crosstown clash, the UCLA men face UC San Diego on Thursday at 2 pm PDT at the Sunset Tennis Courts. 

The No. 23 UCLA women's tennis team (14-5, 6-2 Pac-12) wrapped its home campaign last weekend with a split against the Arizona teams.  After a nearly six-hour rain delay, UCLA dropped a heartbreaker to No. 26 Arizona State last Friday.  In a match that lasted four hours, the Bruins fell to the Sun Devils, 4-3.  Rebounding from the loss, UCLA cruised to a 5-2 victory over No. 66 Arizona, in which the fifth-ranked senior duo of Catherine Harrison and Kyle McPhillips dispatched No. 35 Lauren Marker and Shayne Austin, 6-1, in their last outing together at the Los Angeles Tennis Center.

The Bruins are led by the usual suspects in singles, with No. 17 Harrison at the helm.  The senior boasts a 16-2 record at the top of the lineup and is 8-2 against ranked opponents this spring.  At singles No. 2, McPhillips is 15-3.  Terri Fleming and Alaina Miller have shared time at No. 3, posting 5-1 and 7-2 marks, respectively.  In doubles play, sixth-ranked Harrison and McPhillips own a 13-2 record and are 6-1 against ranked opponents.  Most notably, the pair has downed Pepperdine's third-ranked Matea Cutura and Christine Maddox (Feb. 18), Cal's second-ranked Maegan Manasse and Denise Starr (Feb. 20), and USC's eighth-ranked Giuliana Olmos and Gabby Smith (Feb. 25).             

“We have been lucky enough the past few seasons to have success against USC, which has allowed us to take the overall series lead after trailing for many years,” said Sampras Webster.  “We respect our opponent immensely, which makes defeating them much sweeter.  I hope all our fans will come out on Sunday to support us as we treat them to a memorable match.”

In their last meeting, the Bruins defeated the Women of Troy, 5-2, at the Los Angeles Tennis Center.  No. 21 USC is 11-4 on the season and 6-0 in Pac-12 play.  The Trojans currently have five players ranked nationally in singles—No. 24 Olmos, No. 99 Smith, No. 117 Jessica Failla, No. 121 Rianna Valdes, and No. 123 Madison Westby.  In doubles, Olmos and Smith are ninth-ranked, and Westby and Zoe Katz check in at No. 61.  The Bruins lead the Trojans 51-48 all-time.    

The doubleheader begins at 12:30 at USC's Buntmann Family Tennis Center.  Singles play will be televised live on Pac-12 Networks.  For more information and updates, follow the Bruins on Twitter at @UCLAtennis and @UCLAWTennis.

T.V. Schedule

1:30 p.m. - Men's Tennis: UCLA at USC (Pac-12 Network and Pac-12 Los Angeles)

• Play-by-play: Paul Sunderland – former Laker play-by-play, son Leif played for UCLA in 2006
• Analyst: Justin Gimelstob – former Bruin All-American and Pac-10 Southern Division Player of the Year

3:30 p.m. - Women's Tennis: UCLA at USC (Pac-12 Network and Pac-12 Los Angeles)

• Play-by-play: Brian Webber; Analyst: Justin Gimelstob