Men's Tennis Beats Cal Behind van Loben Sels' Heroics

Sunday, February 1

Berkeley, Calif.

12:00 PM (PT)

UCLA

No. 23 California

Photo by: UCLA Athletics

Men's Tennis Beats Cal Behind van Loben Sels' Heroics

February 01, 2026 | Men's Tennis

Box Score Results (PDF)

BERKELEY, Calif. – Emon van Loben Sels was last man standing in the 14th-ranked UCLA men's tennis team's 4-3 victory against No. 23 California Sunday at Hellman Tennis Complex. The redshirt junior led 5-2 in his third set before falling behind 5-6, 15-40. He ultimately prevailed in a tiebreaker.

The Bruins (3-2) trailed 2-0 before Spencer Johnson, Andy Nguyen and Rudy Quan won in order to put their team ahead for the first time. Bernardo Munk Mesa of the Golden Bears (4-4) evened the score, turning all eyes toward Court 3. Heroics would follow from van Loben Sels, who has now clinched six team wins in his career.

Last man standing once again.#GoBruins pic.twitter.com/jsRCG3StZY
— UCLA Men's Tennis (@uclatennis) February 2, 2026

UCLA's reunited doubles combination of van Loben Sels and Gianluca Ballotta and earned its second victory of the weekend, besting Alex Aney/Lenn Luemkemann 6-3 on Court 3. Cal answered on Court 2, though, as Fryderyk Lechno-Wasiutynski/Andrea Meduri held off the hard-charging Nguyen/Quan in another 6-3 result.

Fittingly, a tiebreaker was needed to decide the opening point. In the end, the 55th-ranked Golden Bear combination of Tiago Silva/Timofey Stepanov outlasted Johnson/Aadarsh Tripathi 7-6(4) to seal it.

Paris Pouatcha doubled the Golden Bear lead with his 6-3, 6-4 triumph over Cassius Chinlund on the sixth singles court. UCLA, which took four of six singles first sets, then saw some of those turn into wins. No. 75 Johnson was first to finish, defeating Lechno-Wasiutynski 7-6(6), 6-3 on Court 1.

Next off was Nguyen, who delivered a 6-4, 6-3 performance opposite Luemkemann that leveled the scoreboard. No. 53 Quan then completed the run on Court 2, topping Tiago Silva by a 6-4, 7-5 score to give the Bruins their first lead. Nearly full third sets were played on Courts 3 and 5 from that point. Munk Mesa took control down the stretch on Court 5, beating Tripathi 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 to tie it up one final time.

Forced to rally late, No. 20 van Loben Sels also needed to do so early. He took just one game in his first set with Stepanov before holding off his Cal counterpart in the second. Leading 5-2 in the third, van Loben Sels looked poised to put the Golden Bears away. Stepanov countered, himself holding three match points before van Loben Sels retook control with his back against the wall and never trailed in the tiebreaker, winning 1-6, 6-4, 7-6(4).

UCLA next visits No. 25 Pepperdine on Saturday, Feb. 7. First serve from Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center is scheduled for 2 p.m. PT.

From 5-2 ?? 5-6, 15-40 ?? ??

Hear from today's hero ??#GoBruins pic.twitter.com/1bYHWW6Ozy
— UCLA Men's Tennis (@uclatennis) February 2, 2026

Tennis Match Results
UCLA vs California
2/1/2026 at Berkeley, CA
(Hellman Tennis Complex)

#14 UCLA 4, #23 California 3

Singles competition
1. #75 Spencer Johnson (UCLA) def. Fryderyk Lechno-Wasiutynski (CAL) 7-6 (8-6), 6-3
2. #53 Rudy Quan (UCLA) def. Tiago Silva (CAL) 6-4, 7-5
3. #20 Emon van Loben Sels (UCLA) def. Timofey Stepanov (CAL) 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4)
4. Andy Nguyen (UCLA) def. Lenn Luemkemann (CAL) 6-4, 6-3
5. Bernardo Munk Mesa (CAL) def. Aadarsh Tripathi (UCLA) 5-7, 6-3, 6-2
6. Paris Pouatcha (CAL) def. Cassius Chinlund (UCLA) 6-3, 6-4

Doubles competition
1. #55 Tiago Silva/Timofey Stepanov (CAL) def. Spencer Johnson/Aadarsh Tripathi (UCLA) 7-6 (7-4)
2. Fryderyk Lechno-Wasiutynski/Andrea Meduri (CAL) def. Andy Nguyen/Rudy Quan (UCLA) 6-3
3. Gianluca Ballotta/Emon van Loben Sels (UCLA) def. Alex Aney/Lenn Luemkemann (CAL) 6-3

Match Notes:
UCLA 3-2; National ranking #14
California 4-4; National ranking #23
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (6,1,4,2,5,3)