The ball had been subject to a world of duress by the competitors on the lead court.
Three sets of punishment.
It levitated in the air, escaping the turbulence for a fleeting moment.
But No. 118 junior Spencer Johnson snapped it from its daze.
The ball soon lay still, soaking in the warm Los Angeles sun.
And Johnson was still standing.
No. 15 UCLA men’s tennis (5-2) defeated the University of Nevada Las Vegas (5-3) 7-0 Sunday at the Los Angeles Tennis Center. It marked the Bruins’ third shutout of the season and extended their record against the Rebels to 11-0 since 2000.
“(It was) nerve-wracking at the beginning of doubles for me,” said coach Billy Martin. “It was a week and a day since we had played Pepperdine. … We started slow but finished really well. And that’s a great preparation match for us, with the big USC match coming up.”
Johnson’s 6-3, 5-7, 1-0(13) victory over No. 44 Ilia Snitari marked one of the defining moments of the match. Johnson took a 5-1 lead in the first set, setting himself up for a potential blowout and flashing a repertoire centered on power, claiming multiple aces and service winners.
But the margins soon tightened.
Johnson found himself trailing in the tiebreaker round, a point away from defeat, just before reclaiming control.
“I try to, more than anything, focus on the things I need to do to improve,” Johnson said. “(I) try to enjoy those situations because it’s fun when it gets tight like that.”
Despite the pressure of a knotted tiebreaker, Johnson was playing with house money. The Bruins had already clinched the dual-match victory and held a 5-0 lead prior to his win.
The Bruin shutout began on the doubles front.
Sophomore Rudy Quan and freshman Bengt Reinhard clinched their second consecutive doubles victory, defeating Taiyo Hirano and Michael Kouame 6-3.
“I never would have considered that (Quan and Reinhard) going into the season,” Martin said. “They seem to mesh pretty good. So far, it’s been a pleasant surprise.”
Redshirt junior Emon van Loben Sels and senior Gianluca Ballotta rallied from an early deficit on court two to defeat Marko Maksimovic and Illia Maksymchuk 6-4, clinching the doubles point. It marked their fourth consecutive doubles victory.
Andy Nguyen took flight in singles play, recording a 6-1, 6-0 win over Kouame.
It marked a rebound match for the junior after he suffered a 6-1, 7-5 loss to Pepperdine’s No. 124 Aleksa Pisaric on Feb. 7.
“I try to learn from every match,” Nguyen said. “In that loss from last week, I was a bit impatient with points and tactical errors. (Today) I tried to focus on being patient and working the point and trying to really earn everything.”
The Bruins earned two more singles victories on courts two and three. No. 111 Quan defeated Maksimovic 6-2, 6-2, while No. 35 van Loben Sels won 6-4, 6-1 against Maksymchuk.
The three lead court victories were sparked by different styles.
“Spencer – big serve, likes to be aggressive, pretty intimidating,” Martin said. “Rudy – the Rock of Gibraltar. Doesn’t miss a return, doesn’t get a lot of service winners, but, man, he makes you earn every point. … And then we’ve got Emon, who does a little of both.”
UCLA held a 6-0 lead as all eyes shifted to court five.
Redshirt freshman Cassius Chinlund was wrapped up in a second-set tiebreaker against Vitaliy Horovoy, with the chance to clinch a shutout.
Chinlund, whom Martin coined a “street fighter,” came to spar.
“I’m not really thinking at all,” Chinlund said. “I feel so much emotion. I feel like I have to release that emotion, and it just gets me pumped up.”
Chinlund secured the 6-4, 7-6(3) victory by means of a service winner on Sunday to extend his 2026 singles record to 5-1.
As victory became apparent, Chinlund began to cheer.
The redshirt freshman pounded his chest, his face reddening with emotion.
His yells, each seemingly louder than the last, were punctuated by a simple declaration, twice over.
“I’m him! I’m him!”
“There’s not a teammate or an (opponent) that doesn’t know, man, you better be ready to brawl,” Martin said. “Does anybody here even doubt that he’s going to give 110% to get a victory for us?”
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