UCLA
UNLV
No. 7 UCLA Hosts UNLV Saturday
February 08, 2018 | Men's Tennis
The No. 7 UCLA men's tennis team (6-1) returns home Saturday for an afternoon match against UNLV. Play from Los Angeles Tennis Center will begin at 1 p.m. and up-to-the-minute scoring will be available at uclalivestats.com/. The match will represent the Bruins' final one before leaving for the Pacific Northwest to face Seattle University (Feb. 14) and take part in the ITA Team Indoor Championships (Feb. 16-19). UCLA will look to rebound from its first loss of the season against a Rebel team that holds a 4-2 record.
UCLA vs. UNLV
UCLA holds an all-time record of 16-0 against UNLV. The teams last squared off in 2016, when the Bruins invaded the Lifetime Athletic Club in Henderson, Nev. and came out with a 6-1 win (March 22). The teams began with singles play and the Bruins quickly snatched up a win over the host Rebels with four consecutive straight-set wins. Current Bruin players Martin Redlicki and Logan Staggs were among those who earned individual wins.
Last Week
In its first road match of the dual-match season, No. 6 UCLA dropped a close one to No. 10 Stanford, 4-3. The non-conference contest at Taube Family Tennis Center featured parallel performances by the long-time rivals, as two doubles matches went to a tiebreaks, while three singles sets needed 13th games. Redlicki, Staggs and Maxime Cressy accounted for the UCLA wins.
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 4-0 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 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.
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).
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 552-118 (.824) overall and a 149-27 (.847) mark in Pac-12 play.
Players Mentioned
