The No. 6 UCLA men's tennis team (6-0) hits the road for the first time this season when it heads north for a Sunday matinee at No. 10 Stanford. The non-conference match will begin at noon from the Taube Tennis Center. The Bruins will look to continue their hot start to the dual-match season, while the Cardinal has its eye on improving a 3-0 mark that includes ITA Kick-Off Weekend wins over Oregon and No. 22 Tulane.
UCLA vs. Stanford
The Bruins hold an all-time record of 72-50 in their storied history with the Cardinal. Last season, UCLA captured victories in all three matches it played against Stanford, including a 4-0 win in the semifinal round of the Pac-12 Championships in Ojai, Calif. (April 28). The teams split the first two doubles matches at Libbey Park before Austin Rapp and Joseph Di Giulio clinched the opening point. Evan Zhu, Logan Staggs and Maxime Cressy went on to pick up singles wins successively to seize a trip to the final.
Last Week
UCLA welcomed UCF, Utah State and UC Davis to LATC for ITA Kick-Off Weekend (Jan. 27-28). In their Saturday match against UC Davis, the Bruins dropped the first doubles decision before rebounding with a pair of wins to clinch the opening point. Then, in singles, Logan Staggs, Cressy and Keegan Smith each won to complete the sweep. Smith provided the clincher. One day later, UCLA took care of Utah State by an identical 4-0 score, as the Bruins cruised through doubles before Staggs, Martin Redlicki and Zhu provided the singles wins. Zhu sent the Bruins to the ITA National Indoor Championships by defeating Sergiu Bucur of Utah State on Court 3, 6-4, 6-4. Earlier in the week, UCLA defeated Loyola Marymount, 5-2, at LATC (Jan. 23). The Bruins clinched at 4-0 on a winner by Ben Goldberg on Court 5.
Zhu Named Player of the Week
Zhu was named Pac-12 Player of the Week for the week of Jan. 30, the second such honor for the sophomore and the 34th all-time nod for UCLA. The singles win against Bucur was the second of the week for Zhu, who also topped Lukas Moenter of Loyola Marymount on Court 2, 6-3, 6-2, earlier in the week. The reigning Pac-12 Doubles Team of the Year also shined during the week, as Zhu-Martin Redlicki won all three of its matches on Court 1. The pair topped Charles Boyce-Moenter of LMU (6-3), David Goulak-Tommy Lam of UC Davis (6-3) and Jaime Barajas-Jose Carvajal of Utah State (6-2).
Home Cooking
UCLA's six wins at LATC to start the season continued a string of recent success for the Bruins on their home courts. When the Bruins defeated Ole Miss in the second round of last year's NCAA Championships, they completed their home season with a 16-0 mark at the Sunset Canyon Tennis Courts. Over the course of that streak at its temporary home, UCLA outscored opponents 67-13. The Bruins also held an unblemished home mark in 2015-16, as they won all 11 of their matches at LATC. Dating back to the 2014-15 season, the Bruins have won 35 consecutive home contests at LATC and Sunset Courts.
Redlicki Opens Year at No. 1
Redlicki has been elevated to the No. 1 spot in the Oracle/ITA Division I Men's National Singles Rankings, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association announced Nov. 15. The senior is the first Bruin to lay claim to the top men's spot since Mackenzie McDonald was rewarded for winning the NCAA singles title on June 1, 2016. Of Redlicki's nine fall wins, four came against current members of the Oracle/ITA Singles Top 10 during the ITA All-American Championships and Oracle ITA National Fall Championships. In fact, of that quartet, none of No. 4 Petros Chrysochos (Wake Forest), No. 6 Thomas Laurent (Oregon), No. 8 Alfredo Perez (Florida) or No. 9 Alex Knight (Michigan) was able to crack the Bruin for even a set. Senior Staggs is currently ranked No. 55, while freshman Smith is slotted at No. 108. UCLA is No. 6 in the team rankings.
Fall Ball
A number of Bruins put on championship performances throughout the fall. Austin Rapp did double duty at the San Diego State Fall Invitational (Oct. 6-8), claiming the Flight 1 championships for both singles and doubles (with Goldberg). Smith took the top spot at the Jack Kramer Collegiate Tournament (Nov. 2-5), edging out then-No. 8 Tom Fawcett of Stanford for the singles crown. The Larry Easley Memorial Classic (Nov. 3-5) singles title went to Cressy, who also picked up the consolation championship at the Sherwood Collegiate Cup (Jan. 12-15).
Who's Back?
First-Team All-Pac-12 honoree Martin Redlicki is back after a 2016-17 in which he totaled records of 29-9 in singles and 24-7 in doubles. Fellow seniors Staggs (21-4, 4-2) and Austin Rapp (18-13, 10-8) join him as captains. Evan Zhu (16-10, 22-6), who earned the Pac-12 Doubles Team of the Year award alongside Redlicki, is also back. Six-foot-seven junior Maxime Cressy (20-11, 19-17) will look to continue his NCAA Championships success achieved in both singles and doubles play. Cressy's frequent doubles partner, Ben Goldberg, is back for his sophomore campaign. Reid Shumway (2-4, 0-2) rounds out the list of returners.
Who's New?
The Bruins welcome a talented crop of freshman to the fold in 2018. Lucas Bellamy (Los Angeles, Calif./Palisades Charter HS), Connor Hance (Torrance, Calif./Palos Verdes Peninsula HS), Bryce Pereira (Arcadia, Calif./San Marino HS) and Keegan Smith (San Diego, Calif./Point Loma HS) each bring All-American and All-CIF recognition to UCLA as some of Southern California's highest-touted up-and-comers. Redshirt freshman Reid Ponder is also new to the Bruins, while redshirt freshman Connor Rapp will see his first action after sitting out last season.
Professional Bruins
McDonald nearly shocked the professional tennis world Wednesday in second-round play at the Australian Open. The Piedmont, Calif. native, who turned professional after the 2016 season, fought third-seeded Grigor Dimitrov to five sets before falling, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, 0-6, 8-6. McDonald won four qualifying matches in order to reach the main draw, where he posted a first-round victory over Elias Ymer, 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 6-1. In other recent Grand-Slam action, Jean-Julien Rojer (2000-02), joined Horia Tecau to take the men's doubles title at the US Open in September. They defeated the Spanish pair of Feliciano Lopez and Marc Lopez, 6-4, 6-3.
Head Coach Billy Martin
Head coach Billy Martin is in his 25th season as head coach of the Bruins, and 35th on the staff. During his tenure, Martin's teams have accumulated a dozen conference championships and the 2005 NCAA title. Just two of Martin's teams have finished outside of the top five teams at the season-ending NCAA Championships. They have also not finished outside of the top three teams in the Pac-12 standings. He has earned Pac-12 Coach of the Year honors four times (1996, 2012-14) and the ITA National Coach of the Year award once (1996). Martin has also led three players (Benjamin Kohlloeffel in 2006, Marcos Giron in 2014 and Mackenzie McDonald in 2016) to the NCAA Singles Championship and two teams (J. Gimelstob/S. Muskatirovic in 1996 and M. McDonald/M. Redlicki in 2016) to the NCAA Doubles crown. An ITA Tennis Hall of Famer, Martin was named the "Junior Player of the Century" by Inside Tennis Magazine. Before turning pro, he played one season at UCLA (1975), during which the Bruins captured an NCAA team championship. He also won the NCAA Singles Championship. Martin holds an overall record of 552-117 (.825) overall and a 149-27 (.847) mark in Pac-12 play.