Bruins Sweep Pac-12 Year-End Awards
June 11, 2018 | Men's Tennis
SAN FRANCISCO โ UCLA men's tennis swept the Pac-12's four individual year-end awards, the conference announced Monday. The feat marks just the second occurrence, and first for UCLA, since the Pac-12 began distributing Doubles Team of the Year and Freshman of the Year awards in 2000. Three Bruins also received All-Pac-12 recognition.
Martin Redlicki claimed the conference's top award as its Singles Player of the Year and teamed with Evan Zhu for the pair's second-straight Doubles Team of the Year nod. Keegan Smith, meanwhile, was named the Freshman of the Year, while Billy Martin was awarded Coach of the Year. Redlicki was also named to the All-Pac-12 First Team, while Smith and Zhu collected Second-Team honors. Maxime Cressy rounded out the list of Bruin honorees as an Honorable Mention recipient.
The awards continue a run on accolades for Redlicki, who spent a vast majority of his senior campaign slotted at No. 1 in the Oracle/ITA Singles Rankings. The lefty from Boca Raton, Fla. went 29-7 on the season (16-4 in dual-match play), including a 24-6 mark versus nationally-ranked opponents. Redlicki posted impressive finishes at three major tournaments, reaching the final of the ITA All-American Championships, the semifinals of the Oracle/ITA National Fall Championships and the semifinals of the NCAA Singles Championships. A Bruin has now claimed the Singles Player of the Year award 12 times, including three of the last four. Redlicki's former doubles partner, Mackenzie McDonald, won in 2015 and 2016.
In addition to marking the second-straight Doubles Team of the Year for Redlicki-Zhu, the honor represents the third in a row and eighth overall for a Bruin tandem since 2000. The pair became the 13th in program history to capture the NCAA doubles title, a feat made even more impressive by the fact that the duo was ranked just No. 29 heading into the 32-team tournament. The championship performance capped an incredible postseason for the pair, which clinched the doubles point against USC's Brandon Holt-Riley Smith at Pac-12s after storming back from a 5-2 deficit. Redlicki-Zhu finished 23-5, winning its final eight matches and nine of its last 10.
Operating on the No. 3 court for a majority of the season, Smith went 25-2 in dual-match play and 40-7 overall in his debut campaign. From Feb. 27 through May 20, the newcomer was nearly perfect, going 17-0 while dropping just a single set. Smith found himself ranked by Oracle/ITA throughout the dual-match season, reaching a season-high of No. 45 on March 20. The San Diego native also had an abundance of doubles success, teaming with Austin Rapp as a force on the No. 2 court. The team usurped a spot in the Oracle/ITA rankings after winning all three of its finished matches at the ITA Team Indoor Championships in February and never looked back, as it reached the No. 6 spot after making a run to the semifinal round of the NCAA Doubles Championships.
Martin, meanwhile, earned the fifth Coach of the Year honor of his 25-year tenure. Though hardly a first for Martin, his team did accomplish something none other had previously with a 30-win season. The Bruins posted three of those wins in four days at ITA Indoors in Seattle, earning a spot in the tournament final as the No. 7 seed. UCLA became the lowest-seeded team to reach the final two with the achievement. For good measure, the Bruins won their third-straight Pac-12 regular-season title and became the first school to claim four Pac-12 Tournament titles.
In addition to his doubles success, Zhu shined on the No. 2 court in singles play. The sophomore went 16-7 in dual-match play and 17-8 overall, going undefeated in regular-season Pac-12 action to jump to a career-best No. 71 in the Oracle/ITA rankings on April 17. The Second-Team honor marks the second in as many years for the sophomore.
Cressy proved clutch for the Bruins in a breakout 2018 for the junior. The Hermosa Beach, Calif. native went 33-7 overall and 21-3 in dual matches. Cressy also clinched a team-high six matches, including both regular-season victories versus USC. Like Smith and Zhu, Cressy achieved prolonged success throughout the heart of the schedule, winning 15 of 16 matches from Feb. 19 through May 20. Included in that span was a 10-0 record versus Pac-12 foes.
Pac-12 Singles Player of the Year โ Martin Redlicki, UCLA
Pac-12 Doubles Team of the Year โ Martin Redlicki & Evan Zhu, UCLA
Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Year โ Keegan Smith, UCLA
Pac-12 Coach of the Year โ Billy Martin, UCLA
ALL-PAC-12
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
FIRST TEAM
Jake Douglas, WASH
Tom Fawcett, STAN
Michael Geerts, ASU
Brandon Holt, USC
Thomas Laurent, ORE
Martin Redlicki, UCLA
SECOND TEAMย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
Daniel Cukierman, USC
Axel Geller, STANย
Billy Griffith, CAL
Ben Hannestad, ASU
Keegan Smith, UCLAย
Mitch Stewart, WASH
Evan Zhu, UCLA
Honorable Mention: ย Max Cressy, UCLA; Eric Fomba, STAN; Jack Jaede, USC; Igor Karpovets, ARIZ; Dan Little, UTAH; Lauren Verboven, USC.
Players Mentioned
