Freshmen Karue Sell, left, and Dennis Novikov, right, arrived at UCLA in the middle of this academic year on the scholarship coach Billy Martin originally planned on using for former Bruin player Daniel Kosakowski, who left to go professional last summer.
With all the attention that UCLA football and basketball recruitment have gotten recently, there is currently an interesting recruiting trend occurring with the men’s tennis team that has been overlooked.
In the past, the team had a reputation for having a majority of international players and not many local products on the squad.
“When I was in my recruitment process, UCLA had always had the reputation of being predominately a foreign school pretty much, as far as tennis goes. We would have a lot of guys from around the world as opposed to Southern California,” said sophomore Clay Thompson.
In recent years, that reputation has changed as four of the top six singles players on the team are from the Southern California area.
“We’ve had a great crop of young, talented juniors luckily right here in our backyard,” said coach Billy Martin. “I’m always trying to get the best possible players. I’ve never really cared whether they were foreign or American. I just want to field the best team.”
Redshirt senior Nick Meister, Thompson and freshmen Marcos Giron and Dennis Mkrtchian are all from the SoCal area.
That number would be five if former Bruin Daniel Kosakowski had not decided to turn pro this past summer after his freshman year.
Doubles players redshirt junior Alex Brigham and junior Warren Hardie are from the SoCal area as well.
This change started with the recruitment of Meister, which would lead to players such as Thompson and Kosakowski coming to UCLA.
“I’d always seen (Nick) around. He’s kind of one of those guys that I grew up like “˜Wow, I hope I can aspire to be that guy one day,'” Thompson said.
These players grew up together as they played in the same junior tournaments throughout their pre-college years. This had a huge impact on the guys all choosing to come to the same school.
“Just seeing a couple guys from not just the U.S., but SoCal come here, it makes you kind of also want to go there because you already have the bond and we’re such a close team because of that,” Giron said.
The players realize that UCLA provides a great situation that is close to home and can find no reason to leave Los Angeles.
“UCLA is such a great tennis institution. Who wouldn’t want to go to UCLA from SoCal?” Mkrtchian said.
“That’s why I feel like a lot of the great players do come here. They are from SoCal, a lot of people don’t want to leave SoCal because it’s beautiful, it’s L.A., it’s Westwood. I feel like all the great players strive to come here and that’s why we do.”
A rule change has made it more difficult for foreign players to come to UCLA. If players do not go to college within six months of their high school graduation, they now have to sit two years in residence, whereas with the previous rule required one year.
“A lot of the foreign guys that I’ve had in the past went out and played almost pro tennis as an amateur for two years, realized they weren’t able to do it, and then decided to go to college,” Martin said.
Those players who are unable to play for two years could not be supported on scholarship, so this has led to less foreign players coming into the program.
The team currently has four international players, such as junior Maxime Tabatruong and sophomore Adrien Puget, who are both from France.
“They add a lot to the team, they bring something else to the table also, so it’s nice to get a good mix of guys,” Giron said.
At the start of spring quarter, the team added two new players to its roster, which is a benefit that the quarter system provides.
Freshmen Dennis Novikov and Karue Sell were able to join the team on the scholarship that Martin had planned on using for Kosakowski.
Both players also knew a couple of their new teammates from previous tournaments that they have played in before deciding to join the Bruins.
While Sell has yet to play in a match, Novikov has been thrown right into the fire and has helped solidify the team’s doubles and singles play.
“I’m glad that the coaches think that I can contribute to the team right away ““ right off the bat,” Novikov said.
“It takes a little getting used to, but I feel like I can make a big difference in helping the team win a national title maybe this year.”
Martin believes that his team will continue to be a powerhouse for the next few years thanks to the recruitment of both local and international talent and inclusion of freshmen players.
“I think it’s good in that it shows recruits in the future that coach Martin is not afraid to let freshmen play and play high (in the lineup),” Martin said.
“I think it’s really great for the future of our program. … We should be a very formidable team for the next two to three years.”