LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The fourth-ranked UCLA men's tennis team continues Pac-12 play this week when it faces Arizona and No. 72 Utah on the road. The Bruins square off with the Wildcats on Friday at 1:30 pm PDT, before taking on the Utes on Sunday at 11 am PDT.
UCLA (16-2, 4-0 Pac-12) is on a nine-win streak, most recently downing No. 36 Stanford and No. 16 California at home last weekend. The Bruins dropped the doubles point in both matches, but rallied in singles to come away with the win. Against Cal, Martin Redlicki and Karue Sell pulled off the upsets. Ranked No. 49 at the time, Redlicki steamrolled No. 17 Andre Goransson in straights. Sell, then No. 98, dispatched No. 62 Oskar Wikberg in straight sets as well. UCLA took the match, 4-2.
The Bruins are led by the usual suspects. Ninth-ranked Mackenzie McDonald boasts an 11-1 mark at the top of the lineup—his only loss at the hands of Virginia's Ryan Shane, ranked 11th at the time. At singles No. 2, Redlicki is 7-1 and has won his last five matches. Gage Brymer has split time at Nos. 2 and 3 and owns a 10-5 record this spring. Sell boasts an unblemished record in dual matches—4-0 at No. 3 and 10-0 and No. 4. The senior is also undefeated against ranked opponents this spring.
Joining McDonald in the ITA rankings are No. 47 Redlicki, No. 65 Brymer, and No. 77 Sell—up 21 spots from last week. In doubles, McDonald and Redlicki check in at No. 5.
Scouting the Wildcats
Last time out, Arizona (8-14, 0-4 Pac-12) fell to No. 29 Washington, 6-1. The 'Cats are led by No. 89 Naoki Takeda at the top of the lineup with a 9-4 record this spring. Will Kneale has compiled a 12-5 mark playing in multiple spots in the lineup. In doubles, Takeda and partner Shoki Kasahara are 4-0 at No. 1.
Scouting the Utes
Utah (16-7, 0-3 Pac-12) has dropped its last four matches. Last time out, the Utes were edged by Washington, 4-3, before falling to Oregon, 4-0. Matt Cowley leads the squad with a 9-9 record at singles No. 1. Sharing time a No. 2, Egbert Weverink and David Micevski are 5-1 and 7-2, respectively. In doubles, Cowley and teammate Dan Little boast a 7-2 record at the top of the lineup.