In this weekend’s Southern California Intercollegiate Championships, UCLA men’s tennis players Matt Brooklyn and Kallim Stewart led the Bruins with a doubles championship.
The third-seeded team of seniors Brooklyn and Stewart posted a 4-0 record in the tournament to take the doubles championship.
“That was certainly the highlight of the week,” said UCLA coach Billy Martin. “Honestly, they’ve never played together before, and I’m thinking that will be a good team for us during the season.”
Stewart is in his first year with the squad after transferring from California this year.
“It’s a real positive,” Martin added.
The top-seeded Bruin duo of juniors Nick Meister and Holden Seguso made it past the first and second rounds before losing 8-5 in the semifinals. The team of redshirt freshman Alex Brigham and junior Ahmed Ismail also won in the first round but was eliminated in the second.
In singles play, Ismail made it past the first round and then upset the No. 1 seed of the tournament, Dean Jackson of San Diego, in the second round, 6-1, 7-5.
Brooklyn, the No. 5 seed, also made it past the first round, winning in straight sets, 6-1, 6-2, but was eliminated in the second round.
No. 4 seed Meister suffered the same fate as Brooklyn, winning easily in the first round but then losing in the second round ““ only this time, Meister was eliminated by fellow Bruin Brigham in straight sets, 7-6, 6-3.
“Singles-wise there were some really good points and not so good points, quite honestly,” Martin said.
Martin felt that some of the players “didn’t look as sharp” as he felt they should have.
On the opposite end of the draw, No. 3 seed Seguso posted three impressive straight set wins to catapult him into the semifinals, where the No. 2 seed Bassam Beidas of Pepperdine, the tournament’s eventual champion, ended his run.
“That’s how these fall tournaments are,” Martin said. “It gives me a little indication of where the guys are at: who’s looking sharp and who’s not, and what we need to work on and what not.”
UCLA also participated in the ITA Intercollegiate Indoor Championships in Connecticut, sending Amit Inbar to represent the Bruins. Inbar was eliminated in the first round 6-4, 6-4.