Even the deepest winter eventually yields to the first sign of spring.
And after a cold start to the season, the Bruins are in full bloom as the conference calendar turns.
UCLA men’s tennis (8-3, 2-0 Big Ten) defeated Indiana (6-5, 0-2) 4-2 Friday at the IU Tennis Center and Purdue (4-7, 0-2) 6-1 at the Schwartz Tennis Center on Sunday. The road trip opened conference play for UCLA’s second season in the Big Ten.
Despite the sweep, UCLA’s weekend began with a comeback effort after Indiana secured the doubles point early on. The Bruins have struggled to open strongly throughout the season. The doubles pair of junior Spencer Johnson and senior Aadarsh Tripathi has only two victories on the season, with six matches lost or unfinished.
The pattern continued against Indiana, with sophomore Rudy Quan and freshman Bengt Reinhard being bested 6-2. Senior Gianluca Ballotta and redshirt junior Emon van Loben Sels then fell to Michael Andre and Matteo Antonescu. Tripathi and Johnson’s match remained unfinished, giving the Hoosiers a one-point lead.
Despite the early deficit, the Bruins bounced back by winning four of their five completed singles matches to secure the victory.
The effort was kicked off by Tripathi, who faced Andre. The senior played a neck-and-neck first set, coming ahead with the 6-4 victory, and closed out the match swiftly in the second 6-2.
Tripathi had previously struggled on the scoreboard, accumulating five consecutive singles losses. However, the Pleasanton, California, local turned a corner over the weekend, crediting the people surrounding him.
“Before Indiana, I was struggling a bit, but my support system really helped. My teammates, my coaches really had that confidence and that belief in me,” Tripathi said. “Having that going into Indiana was really good.”
But Indiana fought back, and the two squads stood at a 2-2 deadlock before Quan clinched victories of his own.
Van Loben Sels faced Indiana’s Facundo Yunis, who was named to the Big Ten Men’s Tennis Players to Watch List last season.
Momentum fluctuated back and forth in the opening set before van Loben Sels pulled out a win in a tight tiebreaker, carrying this momentum into the second set, defeating his opponent 7-6(3), 6-2 to clinch the Bruins’ overall victory.
“My match on Friday was very up-and-down in the first set, and I really focused on staying positive whether I’m losing or winning, and that’s been making a difference in big points,” van Loben Sels said.
Sunday proved to be a cleaner sweep for the Bruins, as they began by securing the doubles point and winning the first four singles matchups. This run ended, however, as Johnson faced Purdue’s Nour Fathalla.
The match was far from easily won, including a first-set tiebreaker Fathalla clinched. Although Johnson came back to take the second set, he notched the Bruins’ lone loss of the affair, falling 7-6(6), 6-2, 6-3.
Tripathi secured his second win of the weekend 6-4, 7-6(6). Coach Billy Martin underscored the necessity of Tripathi’s senior leadership and on-court dominance for the rest of Big Ten play and beyond.
“I was extremely happy with Aadarsh Tripathi’s results over these two days,” Martin said. “We need him to play at his level if we’re going to have a successful season, and I’m happy to see that. As a senior, that’ll be very important for us.”
The Bruin victory was capped off by redshirt freshman Cassius Chinlund, who found himself in a tight battle after dropping the first set 6-2 before taking the second in a tiebreaker. With the team lined up along the sidelines cheering, Chinlund dug deep and won the third set 7-5, clinching UCLA’s victory on the road.
For Martin, the time spent traveling together also helped the team grow closer.
“The last few years, I almost feel like it allows us to be a little more team-focused,” Martin said. “We’re traveling. We’re in hotels together. We eat every meal together. … It keeps the guys focused. I’m almost thinking I’m going to check them into a hotel (at home).”
This sense of unity was echoed by Tripathi, who highlighted the deep bonds within the roster.
“Our team chemistry is the highest it’s ever been in my four years here,” Tripathi said. “We’re not just tennis players, we’re best friends. … We’re just a friend group that happens to play tennis.”
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