The Waves will visit Westwood with a jewel in their crown the Bruins have twice failed to collect.
No. 18 UCLA men’s tennis (4-2) will host No. 23 Pepperdine (4-4) on Wednesday to open the latter half of its eight-match homestand. The blue and gold will follow up that matchup by playing Utah (10-4) on Friday.
Pepperdine has four wins in its last five matches and is fresh off a 4-3 upset of No. 8 USC. The Bruins have yet to triumph over the Trojans this season, dropping 4-1 and 4-3 decisions on Jan. 25 and Feb. 28, respectively.
UCLA and Pepperdine clashed earlier in the 2021 campaign for exhibition play at the Pepperdine Invite. The Bruins swept the doubles matches to claim the first point of the day, and their No. 3, No. 5 and No. 6 singles players guided them to a 4-3 win. Redshirt senior Ben Goldberg defeated Pietro Fellin 6-1, 6-4, junior Mathew Tsolakyan upended Pawel Jankowiak 6-2, 6-3 and freshman Stefan Leustian handled Tom Grosjean 6-1, 6-3.
Coach Billy Martin said the Waves reminded him of his own squad early on.
“They were very similar to us. They didn’t have the young man that’s playing number two for them now,” Martin said. “They were without a couple of their top guys and we didn’t have (senior Keegan Smith) and a few guys.”
Martin’s team elected to withdraw from any further play at the invite “out of an abundance of caution related to potential exposure to COVID-19 unrelated to team activities,” according to the program.
UCLA is coming off of a 6-1 victory over UNLV, highlighted by Leustian’s double-bagel at No. 6 singles in a 6-0, 6-0 victory over Jackson Atherton. Although Leustian was a fill-in for junior Patrick Zahraj, Martin said the performance earned him strong consideration at a more permanent spot in the lineup.
“I haven’t made that decision yet, but I’m seriously considering it, that’s for sure, after an outstanding performance that he had the other day,” Martin said.
Whether Zahraj was unavailable against UNLV or wasn’t selected to start is unknown. The junior missed time earlier in the season after testing positive for COVID-19 and having to isolate himself from team activities.
“When someone is not healthy and able to play, we’re able to throw a guy like Stefan out there,” Martin said.
The Bruins only surrendered two sets to the Rebels, both of which by sophomore Drew Baird, who fell to Jordan Sauer 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-7(2) at No. 2 singles. Coming into the match, Baird had yet to forfeit a set in the young season.
Against the Waves, Baird said he will be looking to rebound just as he has done throughout his career.
“I’ve been playing tennis tournaments for 10 years. I’ve lost a lot in my life,” Baird said. “Every single player goes through slumps, but the good players are the ones who come out of them, so that’s just my mindset.”
As UCLA gears up for its final match before Pac-12 play commences against Utah, the team learned earlier this week that it will soon be regaining one of its top players. Junior Govind Nanda, the No. 22 singles player in the nation and the Bruins’ No. 2 singles player last season, is joining the team for the first time this campaign.
Nanda’s absence was spent playing outside tournaments and taking classes, according to Martin, who also gave a timeline of Nanda’s process for rejoining the team.
“He’s returning for his testing and protocols this coming Friday, and his first day of practice will be the 19th of March,” Martin said. “His first match will be against Stanford on the 22nd of March.”
Goldberg said he believes this team is already a threat and knows that Nanda will have an immediate impact.
“He’s going to give us a great boost, and I already think that we’re a force to be reckoned with without him,” Goldberg said. “He’s one of the best players in college tennis obviously, so our chances go up even more.”
Though Baird deemed Pepperdine’s upset of USC a “head-turner,” the sophomore said he wants people to recognize how formidable UCLA is.
“I don’t think everyone really understands how good of a team we are this year,” Baird said. “Obviously Pepperdine’s great and we respect them a lot, but it’s not like we’re afraid of the matchup.”
