UCLA
Seattle
No. 7 UCLA Visits Pacific Northwest
February 14, 2018 | Men's Tennis
The No. 7 UCLA men's tennis team (7-1), which has played seven of its eight matches at Los Angeles Tennis Center, hits the road Wednesday for the first of at least four in the Pacific Northwest. The Bruins will start their trip by facing off with the Redhawks of Seattle University Wednesday (6:30 p.m.) in Mercer Island, Wash., before heading to Seattle for the ITA Team Indoor Championships. UCLA will take on No. 10 Illinois in its first-round match, the ITA announced Tuesday. The Bruins and Fighting Illini will begin play at 9 a.m. from the Seattle Tennis Club.
UCLA vs. Seattle/Illinois
The Bruins have never faced the Redhawks of Seattle U. Their meeting with the Fighting Illini Friday will mark the ninth between the teams and first since 2009. That year, the teams also squared off in an ITA Indoors first-round match, with the Bruins prevailing by a 4-2 score after falling behind 2-0. Chicago's Midtown Tennis Club and the Illini played host to the Indoors competition in 2009. UCLA holds an all-time record of 6-2 against Illinois.
Indoors History
UCLA has tallied the second most ITA Team Indoor Championships, with seven. Six of those wins came in a span of 11 years (1991-2001). They are also tied for the second most final-round appearances, with 10. Last year, the Bruins reached the quarterfinals following a dramatic win over crosstown rival USC in the first round. With the match tied at 3-3, Martin Redlicki topped Brandon Holt on the top court, 6-7 (6), 6-3, 6-4.
Last Week
UCLA endured an early challenge against visiting UNLV on Feb. 10, but pulled away in singles play to secure a 5-2 win. The Rebels picked up the doubles point in the Saturday afternoon contest, but the Bruins turned it on with five straight singles winsโincluding the clincher by Evan Zhu on Court 3. The sophomore topped Courtney Lock of the Rebels, 6-3, 6-4.
Redlicki Still No. 1
Redlicki, who was elevated to the No. 1 spot in the Oracle/ITA Division I Men's National Singles Rankings Nov. 15, remained in the top spot when the list was updated Wednesday. 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. Redlicki posted nine fall winsโfour against current members of the Oracle/ITA Singles Top 12โand is off to a 4-1 start to the dual-match season. Fellow Bruins Staggs (No. 58) and Smith (107) also held their spots among the nation's 125 best players. In the team rankings, also updated Feb. 7, the Bruins dropped one spot to No. 7. Stanford leapfrogged the Bruins to take the No. 5 spot, while Wake Forest, Ohio State, North Carolina and Georgia maintained their spots in the top four, respectively.
Home Cooking
UCLA's seven 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 36 consecutive home contests at LATC and Sunset Courts.
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).
Professional Bruins
McDonald nearly shocked the professional tennis world Jan. 17 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 553-118 (.824) overall and a 149-27 (.847) mark in Pac-12 play.
