Friday, April 12
Los Angeles, CA
1:30 PM
UCLA
vs
Stanford
Emon van Loben Sels (left) and Spencer Johnson
Photo by: Nola Gallagher
Men's Tennis Set to Host No. 19 Stanford, California
April 10, 2024 | Men's Tennis
MATCH INFORMATION
Date/Time: Friday, April 12/1:30 PM PT
ย ย ย ย Sunday, April 14/12:00 PM PT
Live Stream: UCLABruins.com
Live Stats: UCLABruins.com
Series vs. Stanford: UCLA leads 76-58
Last Meeting vs. STAN: Stanford won 4-2 on April 8, 2023
Series vs. California: UCLA leads 102-17
Last Meeting vs. CAL: California won 4-0 on April 7, 2023
THIS WEEK
Coming off back-to-back road wins in Pac-12 play, the UCLA men's tennis team will host its Northern California conference mates for two matches. The Bruins (10-6, 2-2 Pac-12) kick off their homestand against No. 19 Stanford (13-4, 5-0) Friday at 1:30 p.m. PT. California (10-7, 3-1) then drops in Sunday, with first serve in that one scheduled for 12 p.m.
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 through UCLABruins.com.
LAST TIME OUT
The Bruins swept Oregon and Washington on the road, grounding the Ducks in a 4-3 thriller (April 5) before blanking the Huskies 4-0 (April 7). Giacomo Revelli ended his match opposite UO's Matthew Burton on a three-game run to win 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 and be the last man standing. The Bruins held a 3-1 lead despite trailing after doubles play, as Alexander Hoogmartens, Spencer Johnson and Jorge Plans Gonzalez all prevailed on the singles courts. Oregon pulled level after Ray Lo and Quinn Vandecasteele were triumphant. Two days later, UCLA collected the doubles point and rode that to three straight-set singles wins in Seattle. Hoogmartens had a two-win day, including the clincher. Govind Nanda โ who also won twice โ and Plans Gonzalez also picked up singles victories for the Bruins.
UCLA VS. STANFORD, CALIFORNIA
UCLA holds an all-time record of 76-58 against Stanford. The Cardinal came back to claim a 4-2 win at Los Angeles Tennis Center last season (April 8, 2023). The Bruins collected the doubles point and later added to their tally when Timothy Li prevailed on the singles courts. Stanford controlled the top four singles courts, however, with Max Basing, Aryan Chaudhary, Arthur Fery and clincher Neel Rajesh ultimately victorious. The Bruins will try to improve upon a 102-17 mark versus California. In a match delayed three times by rain, the Golden Bears won the 2023 meeting 4-0 at LATC (April 7). Yuta Kikuchi clinched the overall win for Cal, supporting efforts by Philip Hjorth and Carl Emil Overbeck.
IN THE RANKINGS
UCLA sat at No. 28 in Tuesday's ITA team rankings after being No. 25 prior to its most recent two wins. Individually, Govind Nanda held on to a spot in the singles top 30 for the fith consecutive installment, checking in at No. 26. Nanda, who is 8-6 in singles action, has knocked off No. 3 Murphy Cassone of Arizona State 6-4, 6-2 March 22, 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. Nanda is 7-6 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 after he 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 (Feb. 19). His run included straight-set 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. 191), Giron (51) and McDonald (76) are currently ranked among the ATP's top 200 singles players. Rojer is 17th on the doubles list.
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 652-164 (.799) 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, April 12/1:30 PM PT
ย ย ย ย Sunday, April 14/12:00 PM PT
Live Stream: UCLABruins.com
Live Stats: UCLABruins.com
Series vs. Stanford: UCLA leads 76-58
Last Meeting vs. STAN: Stanford won 4-2 on April 8, 2023
Series vs. California: UCLA leads 102-17
Last Meeting vs. CAL: California won 4-0 on April 7, 2023
THIS WEEK
Coming off back-to-back road wins in Pac-12 play, the UCLA men's tennis team will host its Northern California conference mates for two matches. The Bruins (10-6, 2-2 Pac-12) kick off their homestand against No. 19 Stanford (13-4, 5-0) Friday at 1:30 p.m. PT. California (10-7, 3-1) then drops in Sunday, with first serve in that one scheduled for 12 p.m.
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 through UCLABruins.com.
LAST TIME OUT
The Bruins swept Oregon and Washington on the road, grounding the Ducks in a 4-3 thriller (April 5) before blanking the Huskies 4-0 (April 7). Giacomo Revelli ended his match opposite UO's Matthew Burton on a three-game run to win 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 and be the last man standing. The Bruins held a 3-1 lead despite trailing after doubles play, as Alexander Hoogmartens, Spencer Johnson and Jorge Plans Gonzalez all prevailed on the singles courts. Oregon pulled level after Ray Lo and Quinn Vandecasteele were triumphant. Two days later, UCLA collected the doubles point and rode that to three straight-set singles wins in Seattle. Hoogmartens had a two-win day, including the clincher. Govind Nanda โ who also won twice โ and Plans Gonzalez also picked up singles victories for the Bruins.
UCLA VS. STANFORD, CALIFORNIA
UCLA holds an all-time record of 76-58 against Stanford. The Cardinal came back to claim a 4-2 win at Los Angeles Tennis Center last season (April 8, 2023). The Bruins collected the doubles point and later added to their tally when Timothy Li prevailed on the singles courts. Stanford controlled the top four singles courts, however, with Max Basing, Aryan Chaudhary, Arthur Fery and clincher Neel Rajesh ultimately victorious. The Bruins will try to improve upon a 102-17 mark versus California. In a match delayed three times by rain, the Golden Bears won the 2023 meeting 4-0 at LATC (April 7). Yuta Kikuchi clinched the overall win for Cal, supporting efforts by Philip Hjorth and Carl Emil Overbeck.
IN THE RANKINGS
UCLA sat at No. 28 in Tuesday's ITA team rankings after being No. 25 prior to its most recent two wins. Individually, Govind Nanda held on to a spot in the singles top 30 for the fith consecutive installment, checking in at No. 26. Nanda, who is 8-6 in singles action, has knocked off No. 3 Murphy Cassone of Arizona State 6-4, 6-2 March 22, 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. Nanda is 7-6 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 after he 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 (Feb. 19). His run included straight-set 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. 191), Giron (51) and McDonald (76) are currently ranked among the ATP's top 200 singles players. Rojer is 17th on the doubles list.
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 652-164 (.799) 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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