The No. 4 UCLA men’s tennis team hit the road Tuesday, headed to Charlottesville, Va. to compete in the annual National Team Indoor Championships.
The tournament pits the best teams in the nation against each other prior to conference play, allowing teams across the country to get a glimpse at other top teams in the country. A perfect example took place in last year’s NTIC; the Bruins faced the Ohio State Buckeyes, the team to which UCLA would eventually lose to in the NCAA Semifinals.
Starting on Friday, UCLA, seeded No. 4 in the tournament, will look to defend its ranking and establish itself as a legitimate title contender early in the season.
The Bruins opening-round opponent will be the No. 13 Kentucky Wildcats, who are 6-1 on the season. Unfortunately, UCLA has not been able to log as much court time as the Wildcats due to the recent rain in southern California. The Bruins have only been able to complete two matches on the season. Their Jan. 22 match against Boise State was rescheduled to take place on March 31, and the Bruins match on Feb. 6 was cancelled and has not been rescheduled as of yet.
If UCLA gets past Kentucky on Friday, they will take on the winner of the matchup between No. 5 Tennessee and No. 12 Illinois on Saturday.