UCLA
USC
No. 4 UCLA Hosts No. 9 USC Tuesday
February 26, 2018 | Men's Tennis
Tuesday, No. 4 UCLA welcomes No. 9 USC in the latest chapter of the schools' crosstown rivalry. Scheduled to begin at 2 p.m., the nonconference match marks the annual GolDEN Game for UCLA students, with pizza and rally towels available just inside the upper entrance to Los Angeles Tennis Center (while supplies last). The Bruins are off to a 12-2 start on the season, while the Trojans have won seven of their nine matches. Each team dropped a match at Stanford and a second at the ITA Team Indoor Championships.
UCLA vs. USC
The Bruins have 79-49 all-time record against their crosstown rivals, including a 2-2 mark in 2017. In an 8-9 matchup at the ITA Indoors, the Bruins eked out a 4-3 win when Martin Redlicki topped Brandon Holt in three sets (Feb. 17). The Trojans would avenge that loss March 9 with a 4-1 defeat of the Bruins at Marks Tennis Stadium. In the final match of the regular season, the Bruins secured the conference's regular-season crown with a 4-1 decision, as Redlicki would again notch the deciding victory (April 21). Finally, in the Pac-12 Championships final, the Bruins rallied from a 3-1 deficit but ultimately fell short when Holt won his top-court match in three sets (April 29).
Last Week
UCLA breezed past visiting Portland, 7-0, in the Bruins' return home from the ITA Team Indoor Championships (Feb. 23). Newly-ranked by Oracle/ITA, No. 102 Evan Zhu defended the top court with a straight-set win to clinch the match. Zhu also had success in doubles action, as he joined Austin Rapp in defeating the Pilots' pair of twins Mathieu and Pierre Garcia, 6-4, 6-4, to take the first decision of the day. Maxime Cressy and Bryce Pereira would ultimately be able to continue their success from Indoors, clinching the opening point with a 6-4 victory over Carlos Donat and Jamie Fisher. Then Bruins dropped just two sets in singles play en route to the sweep.
Home Cooking
UCLA's eight wins at LATC to start the season continued a string of recent success for the Bruins on their home courts. When the Bruins defeated Ole Miss in the second round of last year's NCAA Championships, they completed their home season with a 16-0 mark at the Sunset Canyon Tennis Courts. Over the course of that streak at its temporary home, UCLA outscored opponents 67-13. The Bruins also held an unblemished home mark in 2015-16, as they won all 11 of their matches at LATC. Dating back to the 2014-15 season, the Bruins have won 37 consecutive home contests at LATC and Sunset Courts.
Bruins in the Rankings
With their performance at ITA Indoors, the Bruins were elevated to No. 4 in the Feb. 20 installment of the Oracle/ITA team rankings. In the player rankings, Martin Redlicki dropped out of the top spot, but is still slotted at No. 3. Rounding out the list of Bruin individuals in the latest rankings are Logan Staggs (No. 60), Smith (72) and Evan Zhu (102). A pair of UCLA doubles tandems, meanwhile, are slotted in the Top 40 of the doubles rankings. Reigning Pac-12 Doubles Team of the Year Redlicki-Zhu was placed back onto the list at No. 37, while Austin Rapp-Smith made its debut at No. 39.
Fall Ball
A number of Bruins put on championship performances throughout the fall. Austin Rapp did double duty at the San Diego State Fall Invitational (Oct. 6-8), claiming the Flight 1 championships for both singles and doubles (with Goldberg). Smith took the top spot at the Jack Kramer Collegiate Tournament (Nov. 2-5), edging out then-No. 8 Tom Fawcett of Stanford for the singles crown. The Larry Easley Memorial Classic (Nov. 3-5) singles title went to Cressy, who also picked up the consolation championship at the Sherwood Collegiate Cup (Jan. 12-15).
Smith Named Pac-12 Player of the Week After Indoors
In addition to an All-Tournament Team honor as a doubles player, Keegan Smith was named Pac-12 Player of the Week Feb. 20. The freshman shined at ITA Indoors, holding unbeaten records in both singles and doubles through the first three rounds for the finalist Bruins. Smith also registered a Court 1 win over Seattle University's Trenton Nield on Feb. 14. Along with partner Austin Rapp, UCLA's Court 2 doubles tandem was pivotal to its Indoors success, clinching the opening point versus No. 2 Ohio State and No. 6 Texas A&M. Against the Aggies, Smith-Austin Rapp knocked off sixth-ranked Jordi Arconada-Juan Carlos Aguilar, 6-4. Smith would go on to defeat No. 67 Arconada in singles play, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. In UCLA's opener, Smith topped Alex Brown of Illinois, 7-6(8), 6-3, to give the seventh-seeded Bruins a lead they would not surrender. The voting period concluded prior to UCLA's final-round matchup with No. 1 Wake Forest.
Professional Bruins
Dennis Novikov picked up a 6-4, 6-3 win over Christian Garin at the $50,000 Morelos Challenger, which spanned from Feb. 19-25. It marked Novikov's third Challenger title. Mackenzie McDonald, meanwhile, nearly shocked the professional tennis world Jan. 17 in second-round play at the Australian Open. The Piedmont, Calif. native, who turned professional after the 2016 season, fought third-seeded Grigor Dimitrov to five sets before falling, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, 0-6, 8-6. McDonald won four qualifying matches in order to reach the main draw, where he posted a first-round victory over Elias Ymer, 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 6-1. In other recent Grand-Slam action, Jean-Julien Rojer (2000-02), joined Horia Tecau to take the men's doubles title at the US Open in September. They defeated the Spanish pair of Feliciano Lopez and Marc Lopez, 6-4, 6-3.
Head Coach Billy Martin
Head coach Billy Martin is in his 25th season as head coach of the Bruins, and 35th on the staff. During his tenure, Martin's teams have accumulated a dozen conference championships and the 2005 NCAA title. Just two of Martin's teams have finished outside of the top five teams at the season-ending NCAA Championships. They have also not finished outside of the top three teams in the Pac-12 standings. He has earned Pac-12 Coach of the Year honors four times (1996, 2012-14) and the ITA National Coach of the Year award once (1996). Martin has also led three players (Benjamin Kohlloeffel in 2006, Marcos Giron in 2014 and Mackenzie McDonald in 2016) to the NCAA Singles Championship and two teams (J. Gimelstob/S. Muskatirovic in 1996 and M. McDonald/M. Redlicki in 2016) to the NCAA Doubles crown. An ITA Tennis Hall of Famer, Martin was named the "Junior Player of the Century" by Inside Tennis Magazine. Before turning pro, he played one season at UCLA (1975), during which the Bruins captured an NCAA team championship. He also won the NCAA Singles Championship. Martin holds an overall record of 558-119 (.824) overall and a 149-27 (.847) mark in Pac-12 play.
Players Mentioned
