One of the most observable differences between professional and collegiate tennis – even for those not well-accustomed to the sport – may be the atmosphere.
Professional matches are often accompanied by a subdued, more buttoned-up energy, while collegiate games are fueled by long-standing school rivalries, the chants of fans and teammates and, in the case of college men’s tennis, testosterone.
The Bruin bench was no exception Sunday, periodically shouting “Bye-bye, bye-bye,” after points and briefly breaking into song multiple times, singing “Sweet Caroline.”
And the Bruins on the court gave their teammates in the stands plenty to cheer about. UCLA men’s tennis (8-6, 6-0 Big Ten) swept Washington (11-6, 3-4) by a score of 4-0 for its sixth consecutive victory and fifth sweep in six matches. It’s the first time the Huskies have been swept since April 25 at last year’s Pac-12 championships.
“We came out a lot more energized today, really ready to play with a lot of energy,” said coach Billy Martin. “I was impressed, quite honestly. … We were a team really ready at the beginning of the doubles and came out good in the singles, so very happy with it.”
Sunday, the Bruins secured the doubles point – as they have in each of their past six matches.
In the senior duo’s first time facing a ranked tandem, Alexander Hoogmartens and Giacomo Revelli defeated No. 72 Cesar Bouchelaghem and Dzianis Zharyn 6-3. The Bruin pair has taken court one in doubles every match since winning the Pacific Coast Doubles Championship March 2 and have dropped just one set in dual-match play.
Junior Gianluca Ballotta and redshirt sophomore Emon van Loben Sels set down Rohan Belday and Brett Pearson 6-3. With the win, the tandem improved to 5-0 on the dual-match trail.
“We were roommates our freshman year,” van Loben Sels said. “I have a lot of fun playing with him. I love the guy, so it’s definitely our chemistry off the court that helps us play better on the court. It’s been fun.”
And a trio of veterans on the backcourts finished the job in singles.
Revelli won his match in straight sets for the third consecutive time, defeating Rohan Belday 6-1, 6-4 before junior Aadarsh Tripathi followed suit, claiming victory over Ivan Sodan 6-4, 6-2.
Tripathi improved to 7-4 in dual match singles after posting a 4-3 record last year, and Martin said he isn’t surprised by the junior’s improvement.
“He’s really matured,” Martin said. “He’s really filled in a lot of the holes in his game. … Had a good fall, by far his best fall of any, and he had really done a great job during the summer.”
Hoogmartens, returning to the singles lineup after an absence Saturday, took down Nedim Suko 6-2, 6-3 on court four to clinch the match for UCLA.
“Just happy we got the win again,” Hoogmartens said. “We were a little bit on high alert. We know they (the Huskies) can play good tennis, but confident win for the team.”
No. 29 freshman Rudy Quan, No. 75 van Loben Sels and freshman Kaylan Bigun didn’t need to finish out their bouts but took courts one, two and three, respectively, for the second straight match.
Van Loben Sels, who redshirted his first year at UCLA after graduating high school early, said he didn’t have a good first year in Westwood. Being 8-2 in dual-match singles this year, he said he feels like he deserves to be playing well given the work he’s put in.
For the pair of freshmen, Martin said making the jump from a high-pedigree junior to a collegiate tennis player can be tough but should ultimately help them in their pursuits of successful professional careers.
Martin may know about that very transition better than most. He was Inside Tennis Magazine’s Junior Player of the Century before he captured the NCAA singles title and helped UCLA to the national championship as a freshman in 1975.
“It’s different than going to junior tournaments or playing small pro tournaments,” Martin said. “It’s definitely a learning curve, but they’ve been smart enough to talk to some of our past really good Bruins that are doing good out in the pro tour – Mackie (Mackenzie) McDonald, Marcos Giron, Max (Maxime) Cressy. … Bottom line, it’s (collegiate tennis) is going to make them tougher.”
While Martin admitted it’s a long shot, he said he hopes his team is still shooting to host the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament in May.
Rescheduled rivalry rematch
In the meantime, UCLA will turn its attention to USC (10-6, 4-2), which it’ll face Tuesday at David X. Marks Tennis Stadium at 5 p.m. The Bruins and Trojans duel was originally scheduled for March 14 – when the former was 2-4 over its last six matches – before the match was postponed due to weather. However, this time around, UCLA is heading across town having won six in a row.
The two last dueled in Westwood on Feb. 22, with the Trojans emerging victorious 4-3. However, Tuesday’s rematch will be the programs’ first duel in Big Ten play.
“We remember how much it hurt before (when) we lost that one,” Martin said. “We’d like some revenge. … We’re feeling better about our tennis now.”
Injury update
All-American No. 17 sophomore Spencer Johnson, who frequented singles court one at the beginning of the season and has been called one of the Bruins’ top-two doubles players by Martin, has remained out of action with an injury since Feb. 2.
Martin said Johnson is playing an hour a day at this point, but the coach doesn’t want to rush his highest-ranked player back.
Comments are closed.