
Photo by: Eric Hurd
Men's Tennis Knocks Off Pepperdine, 4-3
February 18, 2024 | Men's Tennis
MALIBU, Calif. โ The UCLA men's tennis team beat Pepperdine in thrilling fashion on Sunday afternoon, earning a 4-3 win at the Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center in Malibu, California. The start time of the non-conference match was pushed up two hours due to impending rain.
The Bruins opened the day with two 6-3 wins on courts two and three of doubles play to take the doubles point. The duo of Emon van Loben Sels and Spencer Johnson earned the 6-3 win on court two, while the pair of Govind Nanda and Jeffrey Fradkin registered another 6-3 win on court three to take the doubles point.
As for singles play, the Bruins picked up three singles first sets. Nanda, van Loben Sels, and Aadarsh Tripathi all took the first set in each of their singles matches. Tripathi, who earned his second consecutive singles match sweep, gave UCLA a 2-0 lead and their first win on Sunday, earning a 6-4, 6-4 win on court six.
Pepperdine responded with two wins on the bounce to even the match at 2-2 with three singles matches remaining. On court two Pietro Fellin won his singles match over Giacomo Revelli, 6-4, 6-0, while Maxi Homberg beat Gianluca Ballotta 6-4, 7-5 to tie the match at 2-2 overall.
On court five van Loben Sels took the first set of his singles match, 6-4, but fell in sets two and three 4-6, 1-6, giving Pepperdine a 3-2 lead with two matches remaining.
The final two matches of singles play also went to a decisive third set. Nanda, on court one, took his first set 6-3, before falling in the second set 4-6. The redshirt senior then dominated the third set from the get-go and earned a decisive 6-2 victory in the third set to re-tie the match at 3-3 overall with Johnson still playing on court three.
Johnson battled for over two hours on court three for the Bruins. The freshman from Ladera Ranch, California, dropped a close first set 4-6 before battling back to earn a nail-biting 7-5 win in the second set to force a third set. In the third set, the points went back-and-forth throughout the set before Johnson earned a comeback win in the third set to give the Bruins their fourth-straight win. The freshman was at one point down 5-4, before roaring back to earn a 7-5 win in the third set, clinching the match for the Bruins.
UCLA return to action Sunday, Feb. 25, when they host UNLV in a nonconference matchup. First serve from the Los Angeles Tennis Center is scheduled for 1 p.m. PT.
Tennis Match Results
UCLA vs Pepperdine
2/18/2024 at Los Angeles, CA
(Los Angeles Tennis Center)
UCLA 4, Pepperdine 3
Singles competition
1. #58 Govind Nanda (UCLA) def. #28 Edward Winter (PEPP) 6-3, 4-6, 6-2
2. Pietro Fellin (PEPP) def. Giacomo Revelli (UCLA) 6-4, 6-0
3. Spencer Johnson (UCLA) def. L. Carlsson Halldin (PEPP) 4-6, 7-5, 7-5
4. Maxi Homberg (PEPP) def. Gianluca Ballotta (UCLA) 6-4, 7-5
5. Zach Stephens (PEPP) def. Emon van Loben Sels (UCLA) 4-6, 6-4, 6-1
6. Aadarsh Tripathi (UCLA) def. George Davis (PEPP) 6-4, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. Maxi Homberg/Chris Papa (PEPP) vs. Timothy Li/Giacomo Revelli (UCLA) 5-3, unfinished
2. Spencer Johnson/Emon van Loben Sels (UCLA) def. L. Carlsson Halldin/George Davis (PEPP) 6-3
3. Jeffrey Fradkin/Govind Nanda (UCLA) def. Pietro Fellin/Edward Winter (PEPP) 6-3
Match Notes:
UCLA 4-2
Pepperdine 1-5
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (2,6,4,5,1,3)
The Bruins opened the day with two 6-3 wins on courts two and three of doubles play to take the doubles point. The duo of Emon van Loben Sels and Spencer Johnson earned the 6-3 win on court two, while the pair of Govind Nanda and Jeffrey Fradkin registered another 6-3 win on court three to take the doubles point.
As for singles play, the Bruins picked up three singles first sets. Nanda, van Loben Sels, and Aadarsh Tripathi all took the first set in each of their singles matches. Tripathi, who earned his second consecutive singles match sweep, gave UCLA a 2-0 lead and their first win on Sunday, earning a 6-4, 6-4 win on court six.
Pepperdine responded with two wins on the bounce to even the match at 2-2 with three singles matches remaining. On court two Pietro Fellin won his singles match over Giacomo Revelli, 6-4, 6-0, while Maxi Homberg beat Gianluca Ballotta 6-4, 7-5 to tie the match at 2-2 overall.
On court five van Loben Sels took the first set of his singles match, 6-4, but fell in sets two and three 4-6, 1-6, giving Pepperdine a 3-2 lead with two matches remaining.
The final two matches of singles play also went to a decisive third set. Nanda, on court one, took his first set 6-3, before falling in the second set 4-6. The redshirt senior then dominated the third set from the get-go and earned a decisive 6-2 victory in the third set to re-tie the match at 3-3 overall with Johnson still playing on court three.
Johnson battled for over two hours on court three for the Bruins. The freshman from Ladera Ranch, California, dropped a close first set 4-6 before battling back to earn a nail-biting 7-5 win in the second set to force a third set. In the third set, the points went back-and-forth throughout the set before Johnson earned a comeback win in the third set to give the Bruins their fourth-straight win. The freshman was at one point down 5-4, before roaring back to earn a 7-5 win in the third set, clinching the match for the Bruins.
UCLA return to action Sunday, Feb. 25, when they host UNLV in a nonconference matchup. First serve from the Los Angeles Tennis Center is scheduled for 1 p.m. PT.
Tennis Match Results
UCLA vs Pepperdine
2/18/2024 at Los Angeles, CA
(Los Angeles Tennis Center)
UCLA 4, Pepperdine 3
Singles competition
1. #58 Govind Nanda (UCLA) def. #28 Edward Winter (PEPP) 6-3, 4-6, 6-2
2. Pietro Fellin (PEPP) def. Giacomo Revelli (UCLA) 6-4, 6-0
3. Spencer Johnson (UCLA) def. L. Carlsson Halldin (PEPP) 4-6, 7-5, 7-5
4. Maxi Homberg (PEPP) def. Gianluca Ballotta (UCLA) 6-4, 7-5
5. Zach Stephens (PEPP) def. Emon van Loben Sels (UCLA) 4-6, 6-4, 6-1
6. Aadarsh Tripathi (UCLA) def. George Davis (PEPP) 6-4, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. Maxi Homberg/Chris Papa (PEPP) vs. Timothy Li/Giacomo Revelli (UCLA) 5-3, unfinished
2. Spencer Johnson/Emon van Loben Sels (UCLA) def. L. Carlsson Halldin/George Davis (PEPP) 6-3
3. Jeffrey Fradkin/Govind Nanda (UCLA) def. Pietro Fellin/Edward Winter (PEPP) 6-3
Match Notes:
UCLA 4-2
Pepperdine 1-5
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (2,6,4,5,1,3)
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,2
Order of Finish:
2,6,4,5,1,3
Players Mentioned
NCAA Men's Tennis vs. USC - Billy Martin, Spencer Johnson (May 9, 2025)
Saturday, May 10
NCAA MTN Super Regionals - Billy Martin, Spencer Johnson (May 9, 2025)
Friday, May 09
M. Tennis Interview - Coach Martin on T2's "Second Serve" (April 28, 2025)
Monday, April 28
Portraits of Culture - Bryce Pereira
Friday, May 28