University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
McDonald Named Pac-12 Player of the Year
McDonald, from Piedmont, Calif., played at the No. 1 position in both singles and doubles for the Bruins in 2015. He ended his sophomore season with a team-best 29 singles victories, finishing the year 29-5 overall. He also led the team with 20 wins over ranked opponents. Ranked in the top 15 nationally in singles all season, he climbed to a career-high No. 2 in the ITA rankings during the season. In UCLA's NCAA Round of 16 showdown with top-ranked Oklahoma, McDonald upset the nation's No. 1 singles player, Axel Alvarez, in straight sets at court No. 1. He earned All-America honors for the second year in a row in 2015 by being one of the top 16 seeds in singles at the NCAA Championships.
McDonald, who was also a member of the Pac-12's first team, is the 11th men's tennis player in school history to earn conference player of the year honors and the first since Dennis Novikov in 2013.
In doubles, McDonald and partner Martin Redlicki were 19-8 on the season and 12-5 in dual-match play at the No. 1 position. They were ranked in the top 10 nationally for much of the year, climbing as high as No. 5 in the country in February.
Also recognized by the Pac-12 on Monday were Dennis Mkrtchian (1st Team), Martin Redlicki (2nd Team) and Karue Sell (Honorable Mention).
2015 ALL-PAC-12 TEAMS
First Team
Tom Fawcett, Fr., Stanford *
Andre Goransson, So., California *
Yannick Hanfmann, Sr., USC *
Mackenzie McDonald, So., UCLA *
Dennis Mkrtchian, Sr., UCLA
Roberto Quiroz, Sr., USC *
* - unanimous selection
Second Team
Eric Johnson, Sr., USC
Daan Maasland, Jr., Oregon
John Morrissey, Sr., Stanford
Martin Redlicki, Fr., UCLA
Mitch Stewart, Fr., Washington
Jonny Wang, Sr., USC
Honorable Mention: Gregory Bayane, CAL; Filip Bergevi, CAL; Nick Crystal, USC; Max de Vroome, USC; Jake Douglas, WASH; Karue Sell, UCLA; Simon Stevens, ORE; Naoki Takeda, ARIZ; Oscar Wikberg, CAL; David Wilczynski, STAN.
Singles Player of the Year: Mackenzie McDonald, UCLA
Freshman/Newcomer of the Year: Tom Fawcett, Stanford
Doubles Team of the Year: Yannick Hanfmann/Roberto Quiroz, USC
Coach of the Year: Paul Goldstein, Stanford