UCLA
UC Irvine
Men's Tennis Welcomes UC Irvine to LATC Saturday
February 09, 2023 | Men's Tennis
The UCLA men's tennis team (4-1) meets UC Irvine (0-2) in an early-season match Saturday at Los Angeles Tennis Center, with first serve scheduled for 12 p.m. PT. The Bruins are looking to continue their 2023 success at home, holding a 3-0 record after wins against Hawai'i (Jan. 20), then-No. 19 Pepperdine (Jan. 21) and Portland (Feb. 4).
FOLLOW LIVE
Fans unable to attend home UCLA men's tennis matches in person can still follow live. Live streaming and live scoring will be available for all matches played at Los Angeles Tennis Center HERE.
LAST TIME OUT
Making his dual-match debut, Gianluca Ballota clinched UCLA's 6-1 win against Portland Feb. 4 at Los Angeles Tennis Center. Patrick Zahraj and Giacomo Revelli of the Bruins were also triumphant on the singles courts before the deciding victory. Azuma Visaya and Alexander Hoogmartens tacked on points. It was a two-win day for Hoogmartens, who helped seal the doubles point alongside Timothy Li. Maxim Groysman prevailed late for the Pilots.
UCLA VS. UC IRVINE
UCLA holds an all-time record of 44-2 versus UC Irvine. The programs met most recently during the 2022 season, when the Bruins registered a 7-0 win at Los Angeles Tennis Center. Stefan Leustian clinched the victory, turning in one of five straight-set results on the singles courts. The Anteaters prevailed in 1988 and 1989.
BLAME IT ON THE HOOGIE
Each of Alexander Hoogmartens' most recent five wins has come versus an opponent ranked in the top 50 of the ITA National Singles Rankings. He is 7-3 overall against nationally-ranked foes during the 2022-23 season. Hoogmartens' four latest singles victories have also come in straight sets, starting when he beat No. 43 Trey Hilderbrand of Texas A&M 6-3, 6-2 (Jan. 13) at the Sherwood Collegiate Cup in Thousand Oaks, Calif. To start the dual-match campaign, Hoogmartens has knocked off No. 41 Andre Ilagan of Hawai'i (Jan. 20 โ 6-4, 6-1), Daniel De Jonge of Pepperdine (Jan. 21 โ 6-1, 6-3), Pablo Alemany of Memphis (Jan. 28 โ 6-1, 6-4) and No. 47 Sema Pankin of Portland (Feb. 4 โ 6-4, 6-3).
IN THE RANKINGS
A winner of five decisions in a row โ all against top-50 counterparts โ Alexander Hoogmartens was elevated to a career-best No. 15 in the ITA National Singles Rankings Wednesday. He has now been listed in the top 80 nationally of every installment of the singles rankings since Dec. 8, 2021 and held a previous career high of No. 23. Hoogmartens and Patrick Zahraj, meanwhile, form the No. 58 doubles combination. UCLA is receiving votes in the ITA Top 25 Coaches Poll.
HOOGMARTENS HONORED BY PAC-12
Alexander Hoogmartens was named Pac-12 Player of the Week for the week of Jan. 16-22, the conference announced Tuesday. Hoogmartens defended his spot on the top singles court emphatically as the Bruins opened the dual-match portion of their season with home wins against Hawai'i and No. 19 Pepperdine. The sophomore defeated No. 41 Andre Ilagan of the Rainbow Warriors (6-4, 6-1) and No. 31 Daniel De Jonge of the Waves (6-1, 6-3), increasing his 2022-23 win total versus players ranked in the ITA's top 50 to five since the fall. Hoogmartens contributed to each of UCLA's first two points scored in its 4-3 victory against Pepperdine, also teaming with Timothy Li to outlast Maxi Homberg and Eero Vasa in a tiebreaker, 10-8. The Court 2 decision came after the other two doubles results were split. The Pac-12 Player of the Week award represents the second of Hoogmartens' career and 48th in UCLA men's tennis program history.
FALL RECAP
The Bruins took part in five tournaments โ including two national events โ before the new year. Alexander Hoogmartens racked up a team-high seven singles wins, including two versus nationally-ranked opponents. He reached the ITA Southwest Regional Championships singles final round, beating No. 46 Gustaf Strom and No. 45 Tim Zeitvogel of Pepperdine along the way. Jeffrey Fradkin and Patrick Zahraj picked up five doubles victories each to lead the squad. Fradkin and Aadarsh Tripathi collaborated on a championship run at the UCSB Classic. Hoogmartens and Zahraj teamed to qualify for the ITA All-American Championships main draw.
2021-22 IN REVIEW
The 2021-22 Bruins went 13-12, but had their season stopped short of the NCAA team tournament. UCLA got past higher-seeded Utah in the Pac-12 Championships quarterfinal round, but came up on the wrong end of a 4-3 decision in its final-four matchup with Washington. The Bruins won six of their final eight matches. Individually, Alexander Hoogmartens became the first UCLA freshman to make the Pac-12's All-Conference First Team since Daniel Kosakowski in 2011. Patrick Zahraj earned Honorable Mention recognition. Hoogmartens qualified for the NCAA Championships singles tournament. He turned in a team-high 14 doubles wins while playing alongside three different partners. Stefan Leustian led all Bruins with 19 singles victories.
WHO'S NEW?
The UCLA roster features freshmen Gianluca Ballotta, Aadarsh Tripathi, Emon van Loben Sels and Azuma Visaya. Ballotta (Lima, Peru) holds a career-high ITF junior ranking of No. 42 and qualified for the singles and doubles draws at the 2022 US Open Junior Championships. Tripathi (Pleasanton, Calif.), a Blue Chip recruit according to TennisRecruiting.net, won the Boys' 16 doubles championship alongside van Loben Sels at the 2019 USTA National Level 3: Coyote Cup in Scottsdale, Ariz. Van Loben Sels, also a Blue Chip talent, teamed with Ethan Schiffman to claim the Boys' 16 doubles title at the 2021 Easter Bowl in San Diego. Visaya, another Blue Chip prospect and the top-rated player in Hawaii, swept singles and doubles championships at a number of USTA events in his home state.
BRUINS ON TOUR
Former UCLA standouts continue to become household names in the professional ranks, with Maxime Cressy, Marcos Giron, Mackenzie McDonald and Jean-Julien Rojer turning in notable results across the Grand Slams and on the ATP Tour. Cressy picked up his first ATP Tour championship when he beat Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan at the 2022 Hall of Fame Open in Newport, R.I. Giron was the singles runner-up at the 2022 San Diego Open. McDonald opened 2023 by beating top seed and defending champion Rafael Nadal in three sets at the Australian Open. Rojer collected his fourth Grand Slam title at Roland-Garros in 2022, teaming with Marcelo Arevalo to defeat Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek in the final. Cressy (51, career-high 31 in 2022), Giron (55, career-high 49 in 2022) and McDonald (59, career-high 48 in 2022) are currently ranked among the ATP's top 60 singles players. Rojer is tied for No. 5 on the doubles list.
ANOTHER MARTIN MILESTONE
Head coach Billy Martin is in his 30th year at the helm of the UCLA men's tennis program and this season marks his 40th since joining the staff of friend, mentor and fellow UCLA Athletic Hall of Famer Glenn Bassett. Martin, who passed Bassett to became the program's all-time leader in head-coaching wins during the 2019 season, is the longest-tenured active coach at UCLA. He holds a record of 634-148 (.811) at the helm. He guided the 2005 Bruins to the program's 16th NCAA team title and just five Martin-led squads have finished outside the top five at the season-ending NCAA Championships. Benjamin Kohlloeffel (2006), Marcos Giron (2014) and Mackenzie McDonald (2016) have earned NCAA singles titles on Martin's watch, while UCLA has become a frequent landing spot for doubles champions of late. In addition to 1996 winners Justin Gimelstob and Srdjan Muskatirovic, three of the most recent six titleholders (McDonald/Martin Redlicki in 2016, Redlicki/Evan Zhu in 2018 and Maxime Cressy/Keegan Smith in 2019 have called Westwood home.
Players Mentioned
