Tuesday, January 30
Stillwater, OK
3:00 PM
UCLA
at
Oklahoma State
Alexander Hoogmartens
Photo by: Eric Hurd
Men's Tennis Stops Off in Stillwater to Face Oklahoma State
January 29, 2024 | Men's Tennis
MATCH INFORMATION
Date/Time: Tuesday, Jan. 30/3:00 PM PT
Live Stream: https://web.track.tennis/#/@public-9_6Kj2oq6bg/@public-9_6Kj2oq6bg/evt-2nOiesU2Ip4
Live Stats: https://www.statbroadcast.com/events/statmonitr.php?gid=okst
Series vs. Oklahoma State: UCLA leads 6-0
Last Meeting vs. OKST: UCLA won 4-3 on Feb. 17, 2008
THIS WEEK
Traveling home from ITA Kickoff Weekend in Boston, UCLA stops in Stillwater, Okla. for a match against Oklahoma State Tuesday. First serve from Greenwood Tennis Center is scheduled for 3 p.m. PT. Each team registered a 1-1 record during ITA Kickoff Weekend, with both falling to regional hosts ranked in the ITA top 15. The Bruins (1-2) dropped a 4-2 decision to No. 15 Harvard, while the Cowboys (4-1) were eliminated by No. 4 Texas in a 4-1 result.
FOLLOW LIVE
Live streaming and point-by-point results will be available from Greenwood Tennis Center.
LAST TIME OUT
Emon van Loben Sels posted his first career dual-match singles victory in clinching fashion Sunday as UCLA outlasted Ole Miss 4-2 at Murr Center in Boston. The consolation contest was held as part of ITA Kickoff Weekend. Spencer Johnson registered his second two-win day of the weekend for the Bruins, also teaming with van Loben Sels to prevail in doubles play. UCLA rebounded from dropping the doubles point, with Alexander Hoogmartens and Jorge Plans Gonzalez also proving triumphant on the singles courts. One day earlier, the Bruins were overcome by host and 15th-ranked Harvard in a back-and-forth 4-2 decision. UCLA claimed the doubles point, but the Crimson picked up the day's final two victories after Johnson got the Bruins on the board in singles play.
SCOUTING THE COWBOYS
Oklahoma State brings a 4-1 record into Tuesday's matchup having most recently suffered a 4-1 loss to No. 4 Texas in ITA Kickoff Weekend play. The Cowboys are 3-0 at home. No. 18 Tyler Zink and No. 48 Alejandro Garcia of Oklahoma State are currently ranked among the nation's top singles players by ITA. The doubles combination of Zink and Isaac Becroft is No. 23.
UCLA VS. OKLAHOMA STATE
UCLA possesses an all-time record of 6-0 against Oklahoma State. The programs most recently met March 18, 2023 at Los Angeles Tennis Center, where the Bruins bounced back from an early deficit to prevail by a 4-2 margin. With the Cowboys leading 2-0, UCLA veteran Stefan Leustian earned his team's first victory of the day and was later joined in the win column by freshman teammates Gianluca Ballotta, Aadarsh Tripathi and Azuma Visaya. Tripathi clinched the decision. Previously, they had not met since Feb. 17, 2008, when the eighth-ranked Bruins got past No. 21 Oklahoma State for a 4-3 consolation result at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships in Seattle. The match came down to Court 6, where freshman Nick Meister posted a spotless third set versus Anton Bobytskyi, winning 4-6, 6-2, 6-0.
FALL RECAP
Bruins were in action at five tournaments before the new year. They wrapped up 2023 with a championship performance at Jack Kramer Club in Rolling Hills Estates, Calif, where freshmen and first-time partners Spencer Johnson and Emon van Loben Sels rolled to the Dennis Rizza Classic doubles title. Johnson and van Loben Sels beat the tournament's top three seeds โ including No. 2-seed Kai Brady/Lucca Liu of UC Santa Barbara in the final โ en route to the trophy. Johnson and van Loben Sels also turned in standout singles performances, with both reaching the semifinals. Johnson led UCLA with a 7-3 singles record and 6-3 doubles mark during the fall. Just behind him in both categories was van Loben Sels, who was 5-3 in singles matches and 4-1 in doubles play. Aadarsh Tripathi logged three singles wins, advancing to the quarterfinal round of the ITA Southwest Regional Championships.
IN THE RANKINGS
Gianluca Ballotta found himself in the ITA rankings for the first time in his career when the Nov. 15, 2023 installment was released, coming in at No. 121 on the singles list. When the 2022-23 season was completed, Alexander Hoogmartens held a singles ranking of 85. He reached a career high position of No. 15 on Feb. 8, 2023. As a team, UCLA finished 2023 at No. 35.
2022-23 IN REVIEW
UCLA came up just short in the NCAA Championships first round, falling to Northwestern by a 4-2 score in Lexington, Ky. The Bruins finished the 2022-23 campaign with a 12-11 record. They went 10-3 at Los Angeles Tennis Center. Individually, Giacomo Revelli and Patrick Zahraj were honored with spots on the Pac-12 All-Conference Second Team. Revelli led UCLA with 15 total singles wins. Four Bruins (Jeffrey Fradkin, Timothy Li, Aadarsh Tripathi and Zahraj) put up 13 doubles victories apiece to tie for the team lead. Alexander Hoogmartens, despite not playing after Feb. 4, beat seven nationally-ranked singles opponents in 10 tries. He reached No. 15 in the ITA singles rankings.
WHO'S BACK?
UCLA returns 88% of its singles wins and 68% of its doubles victories from 2022-23, with Patrick Zahraj the lone departure. Gianluca Ballotta (10), Alexander Hoogmartens (12), Pac-12 All-Conference Second Team member Giacomo Revelli (15), Aadarsh Tripathi (13) and Azuma Visaya (14) each logged double-digit singles wins in 2022-23. Back on the doubles side are double-digit winners Jeffrey Fradkin (13), Timothy Li (13), Revelli (10) and Tripathi (13). Also making a return to the Bruins is Govind Nanda, who was 41-15 in singles play and 29-21 in doubles from 2018-2021. He is a two-time All-Conference Second Team honoree who has reached No. 10 in the ITA singles rankings and No. 13 on the doubles list.
WHO'S NEW?
Seeing action in blue and gold for the first time this season are a trio of Bruins: freshman Spencer Johnson (Ladera Ranch, Calif./Connections Academy), senior Jorge Plans Gonzalez (Barcelona, Spain/Clemson) and redshirt freshman Emon van Loben Sels (Sacramento, Calif./Visions in Education). Johnson, part of the Class of 2021, served a two-year Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints mission in Argentina before enrolling in time for the current academic year. He was tabbed a Blue Chip recruit by TennisRecruiting.net and slotted at No. 1 in the state of Utah and Mountain region. Plans Gonzalez went 50-28 in singles matches across three seasons at Clemson. He also logged 29 doubles victories. Plans Gonzalez, who earned a wild card into qualifying for the 2019 Mutua Madrid Open in his home country of Spain, occupied every spot in the singles and doubles lineups for the Tigers. Also a Blue Chip talent, van Loben Sels helped claim the Boys' 16 doubles title at the 2021 Easter Bowl in San Diego. He redshirted in 2022-23.
BRUINS ON TOUR
Former UCLA standouts continue to become household names in the professional ranks, with Maxime Cressy, Marcos Giron, Mackenzie McDonald and Jean-Julien Rojer turning in notable results across the Grand Slams and on the ATP Tour. Cressy picked up his first ATP Tour championship and saw his singles ranking reach a career-best No. 31 when he beat Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan at the 2022 Hall of Fame Open in Newport, R.I. An ATP doubles title followed for Cressy in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where he teamed with Fabrice Martin to take the 2023 Dubai Open's top prize. Giron reached the Roland-Garros singles third round for the second time in 2023. He also earned top-10 wins against Holger Rune of Denmark and Casper Ruud of Norway in subsequent 2023 tournaments. McDonald, who opened 2023 by beating top seed and defending champion Rafael Nadal in three sets at the Australian Open, represented the United States at the Davis Cup Finals in Uzbekistan and achieved a career-high ATP singles ranking of No. 37 the same year. Rojer collected his fourth Grand Slam title at Roland-Garros in 2022, teaming with Marcelo Arevalo to defeat Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek in the final. Rojer and Arevalo won three ATP championships in 2023. Cressy (No. 128), Giron (67, reached 49 in 2022) and McDonald (48) are currently ranked among the ATP's top 125 singles players. Rojer is 19th on the doubles list. Cressy is also in the doubles top 100, at No. 88. He reached No. 64 in 2023.
MORE MARTIN MILESTONES
Head coach Billy Martin is in his 31st year at the helm of the UCLA men's tennis program and this season marks his 41st since joining the staff of friend, mentor and fellow UCLA Athletic Hall of Famer Glenn Bassett. Martin, who passed Bassett to became the program's all-time leader in head-coaching wins during the 2019 season, is the longest-tenured active coach at UCLA. He holds a career record of 643-160 (.801) as head coach. Martin guided the 2005 Bruins to the program's 16th NCAA team title and just six of his squads have finished outside the top five at the season-ending NCAA Championships. Benjamin Kohlloeffel (2006), Marcos Giron (2014) and Mackenzie McDonald (2016) have earned NCAA singles titles on Martin's watch, while UCLA has become a frequent landing spot for doubles champions of late. In addition to 1996 winners Justin Gimelstob and Srdjan Muskatirovic, three of the most recent six titleholders โ McDonald/Martin Redlicki in 2016, Redlicki/Evan Zhu in 2018 and Maxime Cressy/Keegan Smith in 2019 โ have called Westwood home.
Date/Time: Tuesday, Jan. 30/3:00 PM PT
Live Stream: https://web.track.tennis/#/@public-9_6Kj2oq6bg/@public-9_6Kj2oq6bg/evt-2nOiesU2Ip4
Live Stats: https://www.statbroadcast.com/events/statmonitr.php?gid=okst
Series vs. Oklahoma State: UCLA leads 6-0
Last Meeting vs. OKST: UCLA won 4-3 on Feb. 17, 2008
THIS WEEK
Traveling home from ITA Kickoff Weekend in Boston, UCLA stops in Stillwater, Okla. for a match against Oklahoma State Tuesday. First serve from Greenwood Tennis Center is scheduled for 3 p.m. PT. Each team registered a 1-1 record during ITA Kickoff Weekend, with both falling to regional hosts ranked in the ITA top 15. The Bruins (1-2) dropped a 4-2 decision to No. 15 Harvard, while the Cowboys (4-1) were eliminated by No. 4 Texas in a 4-1 result.
FOLLOW LIVE
Live streaming and point-by-point results will be available from Greenwood Tennis Center.
LAST TIME OUT
Emon van Loben Sels posted his first career dual-match singles victory in clinching fashion Sunday as UCLA outlasted Ole Miss 4-2 at Murr Center in Boston. The consolation contest was held as part of ITA Kickoff Weekend. Spencer Johnson registered his second two-win day of the weekend for the Bruins, also teaming with van Loben Sels to prevail in doubles play. UCLA rebounded from dropping the doubles point, with Alexander Hoogmartens and Jorge Plans Gonzalez also proving triumphant on the singles courts. One day earlier, the Bruins were overcome by host and 15th-ranked Harvard in a back-and-forth 4-2 decision. UCLA claimed the doubles point, but the Crimson picked up the day's final two victories after Johnson got the Bruins on the board in singles play.
SCOUTING THE COWBOYS
Oklahoma State brings a 4-1 record into Tuesday's matchup having most recently suffered a 4-1 loss to No. 4 Texas in ITA Kickoff Weekend play. The Cowboys are 3-0 at home. No. 18 Tyler Zink and No. 48 Alejandro Garcia of Oklahoma State are currently ranked among the nation's top singles players by ITA. The doubles combination of Zink and Isaac Becroft is No. 23.
UCLA VS. OKLAHOMA STATE
UCLA possesses an all-time record of 6-0 against Oklahoma State. The programs most recently met March 18, 2023 at Los Angeles Tennis Center, where the Bruins bounced back from an early deficit to prevail by a 4-2 margin. With the Cowboys leading 2-0, UCLA veteran Stefan Leustian earned his team's first victory of the day and was later joined in the win column by freshman teammates Gianluca Ballotta, Aadarsh Tripathi and Azuma Visaya. Tripathi clinched the decision. Previously, they had not met since Feb. 17, 2008, when the eighth-ranked Bruins got past No. 21 Oklahoma State for a 4-3 consolation result at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships in Seattle. The match came down to Court 6, where freshman Nick Meister posted a spotless third set versus Anton Bobytskyi, winning 4-6, 6-2, 6-0.
FALL RECAP
Bruins were in action at five tournaments before the new year. They wrapped up 2023 with a championship performance at Jack Kramer Club in Rolling Hills Estates, Calif, where freshmen and first-time partners Spencer Johnson and Emon van Loben Sels rolled to the Dennis Rizza Classic doubles title. Johnson and van Loben Sels beat the tournament's top three seeds โ including No. 2-seed Kai Brady/Lucca Liu of UC Santa Barbara in the final โ en route to the trophy. Johnson and van Loben Sels also turned in standout singles performances, with both reaching the semifinals. Johnson led UCLA with a 7-3 singles record and 6-3 doubles mark during the fall. Just behind him in both categories was van Loben Sels, who was 5-3 in singles matches and 4-1 in doubles play. Aadarsh Tripathi logged three singles wins, advancing to the quarterfinal round of the ITA Southwest Regional Championships.
IN THE RANKINGS
Gianluca Ballotta found himself in the ITA rankings for the first time in his career when the Nov. 15, 2023 installment was released, coming in at No. 121 on the singles list. When the 2022-23 season was completed, Alexander Hoogmartens held a singles ranking of 85. He reached a career high position of No. 15 on Feb. 8, 2023. As a team, UCLA finished 2023 at No. 35.
2022-23 IN REVIEW
UCLA came up just short in the NCAA Championships first round, falling to Northwestern by a 4-2 score in Lexington, Ky. The Bruins finished the 2022-23 campaign with a 12-11 record. They went 10-3 at Los Angeles Tennis Center. Individually, Giacomo Revelli and Patrick Zahraj were honored with spots on the Pac-12 All-Conference Second Team. Revelli led UCLA with 15 total singles wins. Four Bruins (Jeffrey Fradkin, Timothy Li, Aadarsh Tripathi and Zahraj) put up 13 doubles victories apiece to tie for the team lead. Alexander Hoogmartens, despite not playing after Feb. 4, beat seven nationally-ranked singles opponents in 10 tries. He reached No. 15 in the ITA singles rankings.
WHO'S BACK?
UCLA returns 88% of its singles wins and 68% of its doubles victories from 2022-23, with Patrick Zahraj the lone departure. Gianluca Ballotta (10), Alexander Hoogmartens (12), Pac-12 All-Conference Second Team member Giacomo Revelli (15), Aadarsh Tripathi (13) and Azuma Visaya (14) each logged double-digit singles wins in 2022-23. Back on the doubles side are double-digit winners Jeffrey Fradkin (13), Timothy Li (13), Revelli (10) and Tripathi (13). Also making a return to the Bruins is Govind Nanda, who was 41-15 in singles play and 29-21 in doubles from 2018-2021. He is a two-time All-Conference Second Team honoree who has reached No. 10 in the ITA singles rankings and No. 13 on the doubles list.
WHO'S NEW?
Seeing action in blue and gold for the first time this season are a trio of Bruins: freshman Spencer Johnson (Ladera Ranch, Calif./Connections Academy), senior Jorge Plans Gonzalez (Barcelona, Spain/Clemson) and redshirt freshman Emon van Loben Sels (Sacramento, Calif./Visions in Education). Johnson, part of the Class of 2021, served a two-year Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints mission in Argentina before enrolling in time for the current academic year. He was tabbed a Blue Chip recruit by TennisRecruiting.net and slotted at No. 1 in the state of Utah and Mountain region. Plans Gonzalez went 50-28 in singles matches across three seasons at Clemson. He also logged 29 doubles victories. Plans Gonzalez, who earned a wild card into qualifying for the 2019 Mutua Madrid Open in his home country of Spain, occupied every spot in the singles and doubles lineups for the Tigers. Also a Blue Chip talent, van Loben Sels helped claim the Boys' 16 doubles title at the 2021 Easter Bowl in San Diego. He redshirted in 2022-23.
BRUINS ON TOUR
Former UCLA standouts continue to become household names in the professional ranks, with Maxime Cressy, Marcos Giron, Mackenzie McDonald and Jean-Julien Rojer turning in notable results across the Grand Slams and on the ATP Tour. Cressy picked up his first ATP Tour championship and saw his singles ranking reach a career-best No. 31 when he beat Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan at the 2022 Hall of Fame Open in Newport, R.I. An ATP doubles title followed for Cressy in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where he teamed with Fabrice Martin to take the 2023 Dubai Open's top prize. Giron reached the Roland-Garros singles third round for the second time in 2023. He also earned top-10 wins against Holger Rune of Denmark and Casper Ruud of Norway in subsequent 2023 tournaments. McDonald, who opened 2023 by beating top seed and defending champion Rafael Nadal in three sets at the Australian Open, represented the United States at the Davis Cup Finals in Uzbekistan and achieved a career-high ATP singles ranking of No. 37 the same year. Rojer collected his fourth Grand Slam title at Roland-Garros in 2022, teaming with Marcelo Arevalo to defeat Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek in the final. Rojer and Arevalo won three ATP championships in 2023. Cressy (No. 128), Giron (67, reached 49 in 2022) and McDonald (48) are currently ranked among the ATP's top 125 singles players. Rojer is 19th on the doubles list. Cressy is also in the doubles top 100, at No. 88. He reached No. 64 in 2023.
MORE MARTIN MILESTONES
Head coach Billy Martin is in his 31st year at the helm of the UCLA men's tennis program and this season marks his 41st since joining the staff of friend, mentor and fellow UCLA Athletic Hall of Famer Glenn Bassett. Martin, who passed Bassett to became the program's all-time leader in head-coaching wins during the 2019 season, is the longest-tenured active coach at UCLA. He holds a career record of 643-160 (.801) as head coach. Martin guided the 2005 Bruins to the program's 16th NCAA team title and just six of his squads have finished outside the top five at the season-ending NCAA Championships. Benjamin Kohlloeffel (2006), Marcos Giron (2014) and Mackenzie McDonald (2016) have earned NCAA singles titles on Martin's watch, while UCLA has become a frequent landing spot for doubles champions of late. In addition to 1996 winners Justin Gimelstob and Srdjan Muskatirovic, three of the most recent six titleholders โ McDonald/Martin Redlicki in 2016, Redlicki/Evan Zhu in 2018 and Maxime Cressy/Keegan Smith in 2019 โ have called Westwood home.
Players Mentioned
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