This post was updated Feb. 2 at 10:54 p.m.
Coach Billy Martin opted to insert a pair of upperclassmen into his lineup Saturday – each of whom made their 2025 debuts.
But it was the match’s fate to fall to a pair of underclassmen – No. 50 freshman Rudy Quan and No. 13 sophomore Spencer Johnson.
With all of the other matches having long concluded, the rest of the Bruins and Golden Bears watched the pair of singles matches from the neighboring court – chanting rivaling cries of “UCLA” and “California.”
It’d be the Bruins to fall just short as No. 25 UCLA men’s tennis (2-3) lost to California (5-0) by a score of 4-2 at the Los Angeles Tennis Center.
“It is a tremendously long season and our schedule is incredibly tough this year,” Martin said. “Cal isn’t ranked right now, but they’re definitely a top-20 team in the country. … We’re not going to win every match. … But, hopefully, our goal is to get a little bit better, a little bit more experience.”
Quan, who was slated as UCLA’s No. 1 singles player for the first time in his career, pushed No. 4 Carl Emil Overbeck to a third set before ultimately falling 7-6(5), 3-6, 4-6.
“He’s still getting used to college tennis,” No. 82 redshirt sophomore Emon van Loben Sels said. “I believe Rudy can beat anybody in the nation if he’s out there. … I strongly believe he can beat any of these guys.”
Van Loben Sels had a strong performance himself. He swept his singles matchup against No. 32 Theo Dean 6-4, 6-3, only trailing once in each set. Alongside Johnson, van Loben Sels recorded UCLA’s only doubles victory with a 6-4 showing against No. 84 Alex Chang and Michael Wright.
“I committed to my game, and I was trusting myself,” van Loben Sels said. “Every match this season, I’ve gotten better just by watching my tape and figuring out what I’m doing wrong and what I’m doing well. I think just learning from every match is really helping me play better.”
While Quan played Overbeck in his third set, Johnson was in the thick of his duel against Chang, which was ultimately left unfinished 7-6(1), 6-7(5), 2-2.
“My serve kept me in,” Johnson said. “(Chang) has a good serve. He’s lefty, and I was just struggling to find returns. I blew it in the second set, but he came up with some good shots and some good serves. I got to give credit to him.”
As Johnson and Quan’s battles came down to the wire, Martin said he preached a message of calm in the face of adversity.
“We’ve been through this already quite a few times this season, last matches sort of scenarios,” Martin said. “Spencer’s really used to it. Rudy, maybe not quite so much. … You don’t want them looking over, seeing how (the other is) doing and having an emotional roller coaster. … He’s got to stay really focused, each of them.”
With his roster hampered by a flu contracted during the team’s East Coast trip last weekend, Martin said he decided to thrust senior Giacomo Revelli and junior Gianluca Ballotta into the fire. The pair took court three in doubles but fell to Derrick Chen and Timofey Stepanov 7-6(4).
The upperclassmen replaced the absence of freshman Kaylan Bigun and junior Aadarsh Tripathi from the singles lineup, though both would fall in straight sets.
Martin said he was especially disappointed with Ballotta’s performance, as the veteran blew a 5-2 lead in the first set of his singles match.
And while Martin said he expects both Ballotta and Revelli to find a rhythm going forward, the coach added that he doesn’t necessarily anticipate Saturday’s lineup changes to become permanent.
As the Bruins look ahead to their Sunday matchup against No. 13 Stanford at the Los Angeles Tennis Center, Martin said his team’s ready to rebound.
“I know (our team) pretty good,” Martin said. “Instead of hanging their heads, they’ll come out a little bit pissed off and be ready to hopefully take on Stanford, change the momentum.”
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