UCLA
George Washington
No. 6 UCLA Opens Dual-Match Schedule Thursday
January 17, 2018 | Men's Tennis
Bruins Set to Open Season at LATC
After playing last season at the Sunset Canyon Tennis Courts due to construction at the Mo Ostin Basketball Center, UCLA is back at the Los Angeles Tennis Center (LATC). The Bruins will open their 2018 dual-match campaign at LATC with a doubleheader, as they take on George Washington (10 a.m.) and Grand Canyon (2:30 p.m.). They will also host Pepperdine Saturday (1:00 p.m.). Last season, the Bruins finished the season ranked No. 5 by Oracle/ITA and made a run to the national quarterfinals before being eliminated by host Georgia.
UCLA vs. GW/GCU/Pepperdine
The Bruins' meeting with the Colonials will not only represent the first dual match of the season for each team, but the first ever clash between them on the tennis courts. The matchup with Grand Canyon, meanwhile, will be just the second between the schools. The Bruins blanked the Lopes, 7-0, in the 2017 season opener at the Sunset Canyon Tennis Courts. Gage Brymer earned the clinching point with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Mathieu Rajaonah on Court 1. UCLA has a 49-15 all-time mark against Pepperdine.
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 Logan 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 bsck for his sophomore campaign. Reid Shumway (2-4, 0-2) rounds out the list of returners.
Who's Gone?
Seniors Gage Brymer, Joseph Di Giulio (16-6, 16-7), Michael Guzman (7-8, 3-6), Travis Martin (1-1 in doubles) and Nishanth Yamani (0-1, 0-1) have moved on. Brymer, who was named the ITA Southwest Region Senior Player of the Year, posted a 21-11 overall record in his final season at UCLA, including a 10-7 mark in dual-match play. Daniel Gealer (10-6, 7-3) is also gone, having transferred to UC Irvine.
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.
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).
Home Cooking
When UCLA defeated Ole Miss in the second round of last year's NCAA Championships, the Bruins completed their home season with a 16-0 mark. Over the course of that streak UCLA has outscored opponents 67-13. The Bruins also held an unblemished home mark in 2015-16, as they won all 11 of their matches. Dating back to the 2014-15 season, the Bruins have won 28 consecutive home contests at Los Angeles Tennis Center and Sunset Courts.
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 beginning 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. Heading into the NCAA Championships, Martin holds an overall record of 546-117 (.824) overall and a 149-27 (.847) mark in Pac-12 play.
Players Mentioned
