Saturday, January 17
Los Angeles, Calif.
1:00 PM (PT)
UCLA
7
vs
0
UC Irvine
Spencer Johnson
Photo by: Aaron Fang
No. 12 Men's Tennis Sweeps UC Irvine in Season Opener
January 17, 2026 | Men's Tennis
LOS ANGELES โ The 12th-ranked UCLA men's tennis team rolled to a 7-0 victory against UC Irvine in the teams' season opener Saturday at Los Angeles Tennis Center. Making his dual-match debut, Cassius Chinlund provided the clinching win.
Andy Nguyen, a transfer from UCI, was also triumphant in his first match as a Bruin. Spencer Johnson, Rudy Quan and Emon van Loben Sels each won twice.
UCLA jumped out to commanding leads on all three doubles courts and positive results soon followed. The 19th-ranked duo of Johnson and van Loben Sels was first to finish, beating Max Fardanesh and Tal Goodman by a 6-1 score. Then, with each of the Bruins' two remaining pairs holding match point, it was No. 47 Nguyen/Aadarsh Tripathi providing the clincher. The tandem, which like Johnson/van Loben Sels competed in the NCAA Championship doubles tournament during the fall, topped Rohan Sachdev and Hiroki Sakagawa by a 6-2 margin on Court 2.
Four singles first sets went the way of UCLA and Gianluca Ballotta and Quan soon capitalized to extend the Bruins' lead. Senior Ballotta started his final dual-match campaign with a bang, beating Ruining Huand 6-1, 6-2 on Court 5. No. 53 Rudy Quan then completed his perfect day with a 6-2, 6-2 decision over Goodman on Court 2.
Chinlund dug himself out of an early hole on Court 6, outlasting Greg Gamal for a 7-5 first-set win. UCLA's redshirt freshman, who sat out the 2024-25 season after enrolling early, took hold of the second en route to his deciding 7-5, 6-3 result.
The remaining contests were played out, with No. 20 van Loben Sels next to finish. The redshirt junior bounced back to defeat Fardanesh 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 on Court 3. On the next court down, Nguyen and Sohrob Amiryavari finished matters with a 10-point tiebreaker that proved to be not enough. The Bruin junior, who was a two-time All-Big West singles and doubles honoree as an Anteater, ultimately prevailed 7-6(5), 1-6, 1-0(11). Finally, No. 75 Johnson got the better of Sakagawa in a 4-6, 7-6(1), 1-0(5) decision on Court 1 that completed the sweep.
UCLA returns to action Friday, Jan. 23 when ITA Kickoff Weekend comes to LATC. The Bruins meet New Mexico at 1 p.m. PT in the day's second match. The opener, which starts at 10 a.m., features Pacific and UC Santa Barbara. A consolation contest takes place the next day at 10 a.m., with the winners facing off at 1 p.m.
Tennis Match Results
UC Irvine vs UCLA
1/17/2026 at Los Angeles, CA
(Los Angeles Tennis Center)
#12 UCLA 7, UC Irvine 0
Singles competition
1. #75 Spencer Johnson (UCLA) def. Hiroki Sakagawa (UCI) 4-6, 7-6 (7-1), 1-0 (10-5)
2. #53 Rudy Quan (UCLA) def. Tal Goodman (UCI) 6-2, 6-2
3. #20 Emon van Loben Sels (UCLA) def. Max Fardanesh (UCI) 3-6, 6-2, 6-4
4. Andy Nguyen (UCLA) def. Sohrob Amiryavari (UCI) 7-6 (7-5), 1-6, 1-0 (13-11)
5. Gianluca Ballotta (UCLA) def. Ruining Huang (UCI) 6-1, 6-2
6. Cassius Chinlund (UCLA) def. Greg Gamal (UCI) 7-5, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. #19 Spencer Johnson/Emon van Loben Sels (UCLA) def. Max Fardanesh/Tal Goodman (UCI) 6-1
2. #47 Rudy Quan/Aadarsh Tripathi (UCLA) def. Rohan Sachdev/Hiroki Sakagawa (UCI) 6-2
3. Gianluca Ballotta/Andy Nguyen (UCLA) vs. Sohrob Amiryavari/Alex Guajardo (UCI) 5-1, unfinished
Match Notes:
UC Irvine 0-1
UCLA 1-0; National ranking #12
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (5,2,6,3,4,1)
Andy Nguyen, a transfer from UCI, was also triumphant in his first match as a Bruin. Spencer Johnson, Rudy Quan and Emon van Loben Sels each won twice.
UCLA jumped out to commanding leads on all three doubles courts and positive results soon followed. The 19th-ranked duo of Johnson and van Loben Sels was first to finish, beating Max Fardanesh and Tal Goodman by a 6-1 score. Then, with each of the Bruins' two remaining pairs holding match point, it was No. 47 Nguyen/Aadarsh Tripathi providing the clincher. The tandem, which like Johnson/van Loben Sels competed in the NCAA Championship doubles tournament during the fall, topped Rohan Sachdev and Hiroki Sakagawa by a 6-2 margin on Court 2.
Four singles first sets went the way of UCLA and Gianluca Ballotta and Quan soon capitalized to extend the Bruins' lead. Senior Ballotta started his final dual-match campaign with a bang, beating Ruining Huand 6-1, 6-2 on Court 5. No. 53 Rudy Quan then completed his perfect day with a 6-2, 6-2 decision over Goodman on Court 2.
Chinlund dug himself out of an early hole on Court 6, outlasting Greg Gamal for a 7-5 first-set win. UCLA's redshirt freshman, who sat out the 2024-25 season after enrolling early, took hold of the second en route to his deciding 7-5, 6-3 result.
The remaining contests were played out, with No. 20 van Loben Sels next to finish. The redshirt junior bounced back to defeat Fardanesh 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 on Court 3. On the next court down, Nguyen and Sohrob Amiryavari finished matters with a 10-point tiebreaker that proved to be not enough. The Bruin junior, who was a two-time All-Big West singles and doubles honoree as an Anteater, ultimately prevailed 7-6(5), 1-6, 1-0(11). Finally, No. 75 Johnson got the better of Sakagawa in a 4-6, 7-6(1), 1-0(5) decision on Court 1 that completed the sweep.
UCLA returns to action Friday, Jan. 23 when ITA Kickoff Weekend comes to LATC. The Bruins meet New Mexico at 1 p.m. PT in the day's second match. The opener, which starts at 10 a.m., features Pacific and UC Santa Barbara. A consolation contest takes place the next day at 10 a.m., with the winners facing off at 1 p.m.
Tennis Match Results
UC Irvine vs UCLA
1/17/2026 at Los Angeles, CA
(Los Angeles Tennis Center)
#12 UCLA 7, UC Irvine 0
Singles competition
1. #75 Spencer Johnson (UCLA) def. Hiroki Sakagawa (UCI) 4-6, 7-6 (7-1), 1-0 (10-5)
2. #53 Rudy Quan (UCLA) def. Tal Goodman (UCI) 6-2, 6-2
3. #20 Emon van Loben Sels (UCLA) def. Max Fardanesh (UCI) 3-6, 6-2, 6-4
4. Andy Nguyen (UCLA) def. Sohrob Amiryavari (UCI) 7-6 (7-5), 1-6, 1-0 (13-11)
5. Gianluca Ballotta (UCLA) def. Ruining Huang (UCI) 6-1, 6-2
6. Cassius Chinlund (UCLA) def. Greg Gamal (UCI) 7-5, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. #19 Spencer Johnson/Emon van Loben Sels (UCLA) def. Max Fardanesh/Tal Goodman (UCI) 6-1
2. #47 Rudy Quan/Aadarsh Tripathi (UCLA) def. Rohan Sachdev/Hiroki Sakagawa (UCI) 6-2
3. Gianluca Ballotta/Andy Nguyen (UCLA) vs. Sohrob Amiryavari/Alex Guajardo (UCI) 5-1, unfinished
Match Notes:
UC Irvine 0-1
UCLA 1-0; National ranking #12
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (5,2,6,3,4,1)
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
1,2
#1 Singles Match
123
Hiroki Sakagawa / 0 [UCI]
660
471
#2 Singles Match
12
Tal Goodman / 0 [UCI]
22
66
#3 Singles Match
123
Max Fardanesh / 0 [UCI]
624
366
#4 Singles Match
123
Sohrob Amiryavari / 0 [UCI]
660
711
#5 Singles Match
12
Ruining Huang / 0 [UCI]
12
66
#6 Singles Match
12
Greg Gamal / 0 [UCI]
53
76
Order of Finish:
5,2,6,3,4,1
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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