Friday, January 17
Irvine, CA
1:00 PM
UCLA
at
UC Irvine
Alexander Hoogmartens
Photo by: Jenny Xu
No. 20 Men's Tennis Set to Open Dual-Match Play
January 16, 2025 | Men's Tennis
The 20th-ranked UCLA men's tennis team is set to start the dual-match portion of its schedule with matches against Southern California foes UC Irvine and San Diego. The Bruins begin the season by visiting the Anteaters Friday at 1 p.m. PT. Originally set to be played at UCLA, the contest was moved due to concerns surrounding area wildfires and with the UCLA community's safety and wellness the top priority. The Bruins open their home slate Monday at 1 p.m., when No. 16 USD heads up to Los Angeles Tennis Center.
FOLLOW LIVE
Fans unable to attend home UCLA men's tennis matches can still follow live. Point-by-point scoring and streaming will be available for all matches played at Los Angeles Tennis Center HERE.
Additionally, in-match updates for home and road contests can be found on the UCLA men's tennis X account.
PAST MATCHUPS
Series vs. UC Irvine: UCLA leads 46-2
Most Recent vs. UC Irvine: UCLA won 4-1 on March 7, 2024
Series vs. San Diego: UCLA leads 34-1
Most Recent vs. San Diego: San Diego won 4-3 on March 7, 2022
FALL RECAP
Bruins competed at six fall tournaments, concluding with the first-ever fall NCAA individual championships. There was a UCLA sweep at the ITA Southwest Regional Championships in Tempe, Ariz., where Spencer Johnson collected the singles title and Alexander Hoogmartens/Aadarsh Tripathi walked away with the doubles crown. Emon van Loben Sels reached the singles semifinals at Kiwanis Tennis Center. Each of those standout performances was rewarded with a ticket to NCAAs in Waco, Texas. Johnson won three matches there, reaching the quarterfinal round. Hoogmartens/Tripathi also had a quarterfinal run. Those showings garnered each All-America recognition. A singles win was also picked up by van Loben Sels. Johnson (10-2) and van Loben Sels (10-5) tied for the team lead with 10 singles victories during the fall, while Hoogmartens/Tripathi went a perfect 7-0 before the pair was unable to go in its finale.
IN THE RANKINGS
Team: No. 20 UCLA
Singles: No. 13 Spencer Johnson*, No. 50 Rudy Quan*, No. 82 Emon van Loben Sels*, No. 93 Aadarsh Tripathi*
Doubles: No. 10 Alexander Hoogmartens*/Aadarsh Tripathi*
* - career high
2023-24 IN REVIEW
UCLA registered a 15-8 overall record and finished No. 22 in the final ITA team rankings of 2024. The Bruins beat LSU in the NCAA Championships opening round before falling to second-seeded Texas. A seven-match winning streak from March 29-April 21 included a 4-3 victory against 19th-ranked Stanford and a pair of decisions over crosstown rival USC. Individually, Spencer Johnson was named the Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Year and a first-team honoree by the conference. He logged team highs of 23 singles wins and 21 doubles victories. Govind Nanda, also an All-Pac-12 First Team pick, was tabbed the ITA Southwest Region's Senior Player of the Year. He also qualified for the NCAA singles tournament. Alexander Hoogmartens made the conference second team.
WHO'S BACK?
UCLA returns All-Pac-12 performers Alexander Hoogmartens (second team) and Spencer Johnson (first team) from the 2023-24 roster. Johnson was also the conference's Freshman/Newcomer of the Year. In addition to Hoogmartens (seven) and Johnson (14), Gianluca Ballotta (six), Giacomo Revelli (six), Emon van Loben Sels (three) and Aadarsh Tripathi (four) logged dual-match singles wins in 2024. Hoogmartens (12), Johnson (13) and van Loben Sels (12) were double-digit winners on the doubles side in dual-match play.
WHO'S NEW?
UCLA has five freshmen on its roster in 2025: Kaylan Bigun (Los Angeles, Calif./Bridgeway Academy), Cassius Chinlund (Los Angeles, Calif./ICL Academy), Andrei Crabel (Beverly Hills, Calif./Bridgeway Academy), Rudy Quan (Thousand Oaks, Calif./Century Academy) and Leo von Bismarck (Hamburg, Germany/Eliteschule des Sports Alter Teichweg). Bigun in 2024 claimed the French Open boys' singles title and climbed to No. 1 in the ITF junior rankings. Chinlund, who made it to No. 1 in the USTA junior singles rankings, won the Boys' 18 singles crown at the 2023 Easter Bowl. Crabel is a veteran of ITF events and paired with teammate Spencer Johnson at two Lakewood, CA events. Quan rose to No. 2 in his class according to the Tennis Recruiting Network and lifted the Boys' 18 singles trophy at the 2024 FILA International Junior Championships. Another frequent ITF competitor, von Bismarck picked up singles wins at the Hilversum and Hamburg events in 2023 and made a doubles semifinal round at Fleesensee in 2022.
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 in recent years. 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 rose to a career-high spot of No. 37 on the singles list when he claimed his first ATP crown by knocking off fellow American Alex Michelsen at the 2024 Hall of Fame Open. Giron recently made the Australian Open singles third round and reached the Roland-Garros singles third round for the second time in 2023. His 2023 also included top-10 wins against Holger Rune of Denmark and Casper Ruud of Norway. 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 won three ATP championships with Arevalo in 2023 and another alongside Lloyd Glasspool in 2024.
MARTIN MILESTONES
Head coach Billy Martin is in his 32nd year at the helm of the UCLA men's tennis program and this season marks his 42nd 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 657-166 (.798) as head coach. Martin guided the 2005 Bruins to the program's 16th NCAA team title and 23 of his squads have finished in 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 seven titleholders โ McDonald/Martin Redlicki in 2016, Redlicki/Evan Zhu in 2018 and Maxime Cressy/Keegan Smith in 2019 โ have called Westwood home.
FOLLOW LIVE
Fans unable to attend home UCLA men's tennis matches can still follow live. Point-by-point scoring and streaming will be available for all matches played at Los Angeles Tennis Center HERE.
Additionally, in-match updates for home and road contests can be found on the UCLA men's tennis X account.
PAST MATCHUPS
Series vs. UC Irvine: UCLA leads 46-2
Most Recent vs. UC Irvine: UCLA won 4-1 on March 7, 2024
Series vs. San Diego: UCLA leads 34-1
Most Recent vs. San Diego: San Diego won 4-3 on March 7, 2022
FALL RECAP
Bruins competed at six fall tournaments, concluding with the first-ever fall NCAA individual championships. There was a UCLA sweep at the ITA Southwest Regional Championships in Tempe, Ariz., where Spencer Johnson collected the singles title and Alexander Hoogmartens/Aadarsh Tripathi walked away with the doubles crown. Emon van Loben Sels reached the singles semifinals at Kiwanis Tennis Center. Each of those standout performances was rewarded with a ticket to NCAAs in Waco, Texas. Johnson won three matches there, reaching the quarterfinal round. Hoogmartens/Tripathi also had a quarterfinal run. Those showings garnered each All-America recognition. A singles win was also picked up by van Loben Sels. Johnson (10-2) and van Loben Sels (10-5) tied for the team lead with 10 singles victories during the fall, while Hoogmartens/Tripathi went a perfect 7-0 before the pair was unable to go in its finale.
IN THE RANKINGS
Team: No. 20 UCLA
Singles: No. 13 Spencer Johnson*, No. 50 Rudy Quan*, No. 82 Emon van Loben Sels*, No. 93 Aadarsh Tripathi*
Doubles: No. 10 Alexander Hoogmartens*/Aadarsh Tripathi*
* - career high
2023-24 IN REVIEW
UCLA registered a 15-8 overall record and finished No. 22 in the final ITA team rankings of 2024. The Bruins beat LSU in the NCAA Championships opening round before falling to second-seeded Texas. A seven-match winning streak from March 29-April 21 included a 4-3 victory against 19th-ranked Stanford and a pair of decisions over crosstown rival USC. Individually, Spencer Johnson was named the Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Year and a first-team honoree by the conference. He logged team highs of 23 singles wins and 21 doubles victories. Govind Nanda, also an All-Pac-12 First Team pick, was tabbed the ITA Southwest Region's Senior Player of the Year. He also qualified for the NCAA singles tournament. Alexander Hoogmartens made the conference second team.
WHO'S BACK?
UCLA returns All-Pac-12 performers Alexander Hoogmartens (second team) and Spencer Johnson (first team) from the 2023-24 roster. Johnson was also the conference's Freshman/Newcomer of the Year. In addition to Hoogmartens (seven) and Johnson (14), Gianluca Ballotta (six), Giacomo Revelli (six), Emon van Loben Sels (three) and Aadarsh Tripathi (four) logged dual-match singles wins in 2024. Hoogmartens (12), Johnson (13) and van Loben Sels (12) were double-digit winners on the doubles side in dual-match play.
WHO'S NEW?
UCLA has five freshmen on its roster in 2025: Kaylan Bigun (Los Angeles, Calif./Bridgeway Academy), Cassius Chinlund (Los Angeles, Calif./ICL Academy), Andrei Crabel (Beverly Hills, Calif./Bridgeway Academy), Rudy Quan (Thousand Oaks, Calif./Century Academy) and Leo von Bismarck (Hamburg, Germany/Eliteschule des Sports Alter Teichweg). Bigun in 2024 claimed the French Open boys' singles title and climbed to No. 1 in the ITF junior rankings. Chinlund, who made it to No. 1 in the USTA junior singles rankings, won the Boys' 18 singles crown at the 2023 Easter Bowl. Crabel is a veteran of ITF events and paired with teammate Spencer Johnson at two Lakewood, CA events. Quan rose to No. 2 in his class according to the Tennis Recruiting Network and lifted the Boys' 18 singles trophy at the 2024 FILA International Junior Championships. Another frequent ITF competitor, von Bismarck picked up singles wins at the Hilversum and Hamburg events in 2023 and made a doubles semifinal round at Fleesensee in 2022.
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 in recent years. 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 rose to a career-high spot of No. 37 on the singles list when he claimed his first ATP crown by knocking off fellow American Alex Michelsen at the 2024 Hall of Fame Open. Giron recently made the Australian Open singles third round and reached the Roland-Garros singles third round for the second time in 2023. His 2023 also included top-10 wins against Holger Rune of Denmark and Casper Ruud of Norway. 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 won three ATP championships with Arevalo in 2023 and another alongside Lloyd Glasspool in 2024.
MARTIN MILESTONES
Head coach Billy Martin is in his 32nd year at the helm of the UCLA men's tennis program and this season marks his 42nd 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 657-166 (.798) as head coach. Martin guided the 2005 Bruins to the program's 16th NCAA team title and 23 of his squads have finished in 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 seven 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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