Friday, March 22
Los Angeles, CA
2:00 PM
UCLA
vs
Arizona State
Timothy Li (right) and Giacomo Revelli (Photo: Scott Chandler)
Photo by: Scott Chandler
Men's Tennis Hosts Top-25 Matchups to Start Pac-12 Play
March 21, 2024 | Men's Tennis
MATCH INFORMATION
Date/Time: Friday, March 22/2:00 PM PT
ย ย ย ย Sunday, March 24/12:00 PM PT
Live Stream: https://ucla.in/3iQZgjcย
Live Stats: https://ucla.in/3iQZgjcย
Series vs. Arizona State: UCLA leads 68-4
Last Meeting vs. ASU: UCLA won 4-3 on April 2, 2023
Series vs. Arizona: UCLA leads 74-3
Last Meeting vs. ARIZ: Arizona won 4-0 on March 31, 2023
THIS WEEK
No. 24 UCLA opens Pac-12 play by hosting No. 20 Arizona State Friday (2 p.m. PT) and No. 6 Arizona Sunday (12 p.m.), completing a seven-match homestand. The Bruins (7-4) are coming off a thrilling 4-3 win against No. 10 Harvard (March 17), while the Sun Devils (12-6) and Wildcats (14-2) are coming off top-15 road tilts. ASU fell to No. 14 San Diego 4-2 (March 17), while Arizona heads to Los Angeles on an eight-match winning streak after most recently beating No. 11 Illinois 4-3 (March 10).
FOLLOW LIVE
Fans unable to attend home UCLA matches in person can still follow live. Point-by-point scoring and streaming will be available for all contests played at Los Angeles Tennis Center HERE.
LAST TIME OUT
UCLA faced three top-10 teams in seven days at Los Angeles Tennis Center, falling to No. 6 Columbia (6-1, March 11) and No. 2 TCU (4-3, March 13) before taking down No. 10 Harvard (4-3, March 17). Spencer Johnson overcame a 1-4 third-set deficit against No. 104 Daniel Milavsky of the Crimson to be last man standing in the week's thrilling finale. The Bruins secured the doubles point and took a 3-1 lead with singles wins by Gianluca Ballotta and Alexander Hoogmartens, who was playing in his first match since Jan. 30. Harvard mounted a comeback, with Rohan Murali and Henry von der Schulenberg supporting an earlier effort by Cooper Williams. Johnson also erased a 2-5 difference in his second-set tiebreaker on Court 3 en route to a 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 victory.
UCLA VS. ARIZONA STATE, ARIZONA
UCLA holds an all-time record of 68-4 against Arizona State. With all eyes on his court, freshman Azuma Visaya prevailed went the distance to give the visiting Bruins a thrilling 4-3 conference victory in the most recent meeting (April 2, 2023). Visaya and Giacomo Revelli won the final two matches of the day for the Bruins. Gianluca Ballotta also logged a singles win for UCLA, which began the day by taking the doubles point. The Sun Devils got wins from Murphy Cassone, Roi Ginat and Max McKennon. UCLA has fallen in its past two meetings with Arizona, but still leads the overall series 74-3. The host Wildcats prevailed by a 4-0 score last year (March 31, 2023). UCLA pushed Arizona to its limit in doubles play, but was outlasted in a tiebreaker on the final court. Gustaf Strom clinched the overall victory for the Wildcats.
IN THE RANKINGS
UCLA was elevated to its season-high position of No. 24 in the latest ITA team rankings (March 19). Individually, Govind Nanda held on to a spot in the singles top 30 for the third consecutive installment, coming in at No. 28. Nanda, who is 7-5 in singles action, knocked off No. 18 Tyler Zink of Oklahoma State 7-5, 6-1 Jan. 30 and No. 28 Edward Winter of Pepperdine 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 Feb. 18. Each victory was part of a 4-3 team win on the road. Nanda is 5-4 in dual-match singles play, with each of the decisions made on Court 1.
NANDA NAMED PAC-12 PLAYER OF THE WEEK FOR JAN. 29-FEB. 4
Redshirt senior Govind Nanda was named Pac-12 Player of the Week for the week of Jan. 29-Feb. 4, the conference announced Tuesday. Nanda had a hand in the Bruins' initial two points of their thrilling 4-3 victory at Oklahoma State (Jan. 30). Nanda and Alexander Hoogmartens dealt Leighton Allen and Erik Schiessl a 6-2 defeat on the third doubles court to put UCLA on the scoreboard first. Nanda then knocked off the nation's 18th-ranked singles player, Tyler Zink, 7-5, 6-1 on the top court to give his team a 2-1 lead. The Cowboys' loss was their first at Greenwood Tennis Center in four early-season matches. The third weekly honor of Nanda's career also marked his first since March 31, 2021. UCLA men's tennis has garnered 49 of the awards overall.
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.
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 be 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. Giron is off to a hot start in 2024, reaching the Dallas Open singles final and a career-high singles ranking of 44. His run included straight sets victories opposite No. 14 Frances Tiafoe of the United States and No. 17 Adrian Mannarino of France. 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. 188), Giron (51) and McDonald (69) are currently ranked among the ATP's top 200 singles players. Rojer is 17th on the doubles list. McDonald (92, reached 49 in 2023) is also in the doubles top 100.
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 649-162 (.800) 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: Friday, March 22/2:00 PM PT
ย ย ย ย Sunday, March 24/12:00 PM PT
Live Stream: https://ucla.in/3iQZgjcย
Live Stats: https://ucla.in/3iQZgjcย
Series vs. Arizona State: UCLA leads 68-4
Last Meeting vs. ASU: UCLA won 4-3 on April 2, 2023
Series vs. Arizona: UCLA leads 74-3
Last Meeting vs. ARIZ: Arizona won 4-0 on March 31, 2023
THIS WEEK
No. 24 UCLA opens Pac-12 play by hosting No. 20 Arizona State Friday (2 p.m. PT) and No. 6 Arizona Sunday (12 p.m.), completing a seven-match homestand. The Bruins (7-4) are coming off a thrilling 4-3 win against No. 10 Harvard (March 17), while the Sun Devils (12-6) and Wildcats (14-2) are coming off top-15 road tilts. ASU fell to No. 14 San Diego 4-2 (March 17), while Arizona heads to Los Angeles on an eight-match winning streak after most recently beating No. 11 Illinois 4-3 (March 10).
FOLLOW LIVE
Fans unable to attend home UCLA matches in person can still follow live. Point-by-point scoring and streaming will be available for all contests played at Los Angeles Tennis Center HERE.
LAST TIME OUT
UCLA faced three top-10 teams in seven days at Los Angeles Tennis Center, falling to No. 6 Columbia (6-1, March 11) and No. 2 TCU (4-3, March 13) before taking down No. 10 Harvard (4-3, March 17). Spencer Johnson overcame a 1-4 third-set deficit against No. 104 Daniel Milavsky of the Crimson to be last man standing in the week's thrilling finale. The Bruins secured the doubles point and took a 3-1 lead with singles wins by Gianluca Ballotta and Alexander Hoogmartens, who was playing in his first match since Jan. 30. Harvard mounted a comeback, with Rohan Murali and Henry von der Schulenberg supporting an earlier effort by Cooper Williams. Johnson also erased a 2-5 difference in his second-set tiebreaker on Court 3 en route to a 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 victory.
UCLA VS. ARIZONA STATE, ARIZONA
UCLA holds an all-time record of 68-4 against Arizona State. With all eyes on his court, freshman Azuma Visaya prevailed went the distance to give the visiting Bruins a thrilling 4-3 conference victory in the most recent meeting (April 2, 2023). Visaya and Giacomo Revelli won the final two matches of the day for the Bruins. Gianluca Ballotta also logged a singles win for UCLA, which began the day by taking the doubles point. The Sun Devils got wins from Murphy Cassone, Roi Ginat and Max McKennon. UCLA has fallen in its past two meetings with Arizona, but still leads the overall series 74-3. The host Wildcats prevailed by a 4-0 score last year (March 31, 2023). UCLA pushed Arizona to its limit in doubles play, but was outlasted in a tiebreaker on the final court. Gustaf Strom clinched the overall victory for the Wildcats.
IN THE RANKINGS
UCLA was elevated to its season-high position of No. 24 in the latest ITA team rankings (March 19). Individually, Govind Nanda held on to a spot in the singles top 30 for the third consecutive installment, coming in at No. 28. Nanda, who is 7-5 in singles action, knocked off No. 18 Tyler Zink of Oklahoma State 7-5, 6-1 Jan. 30 and No. 28 Edward Winter of Pepperdine 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 Feb. 18. Each victory was part of a 4-3 team win on the road. Nanda is 5-4 in dual-match singles play, with each of the decisions made on Court 1.
NANDA NAMED PAC-12 PLAYER OF THE WEEK FOR JAN. 29-FEB. 4
Redshirt senior Govind Nanda was named Pac-12 Player of the Week for the week of Jan. 29-Feb. 4, the conference announced Tuesday. Nanda had a hand in the Bruins' initial two points of their thrilling 4-3 victory at Oklahoma State (Jan. 30). Nanda and Alexander Hoogmartens dealt Leighton Allen and Erik Schiessl a 6-2 defeat on the third doubles court to put UCLA on the scoreboard first. Nanda then knocked off the nation's 18th-ranked singles player, Tyler Zink, 7-5, 6-1 on the top court to give his team a 2-1 lead. The Cowboys' loss was their first at Greenwood Tennis Center in four early-season matches. The third weekly honor of Nanda's career also marked his first since March 31, 2021. UCLA men's tennis has garnered 49 of the awards overall.
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.
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 be 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. Giron is off to a hot start in 2024, reaching the Dallas Open singles final and a career-high singles ranking of 44. His run included straight sets victories opposite No. 14 Frances Tiafoe of the United States and No. 17 Adrian Mannarino of France. 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. 188), Giron (51) and McDonald (69) are currently ranked among the ATP's top 200 singles players. Rojer is 17th on the doubles list. McDonald (92, reached 49 in 2023) is also in the doubles top 100.
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 649-162 (.800) 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
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
NCAA Men's Tennis vs. USC - Billy Martin, Spencer Johnson (May 9, 2025)
Saturday, May 10
NCAA MTN Super Regionals - Billy Martin, Spencer Johnson (May 9, 2025)
Friday, May 09
M. Tennis Interview - Coach Martin on T2's "Second Serve" (April 28, 2025)
Monday, April 28
Portraits of Culture - Bryce Pereira
Friday, May 28