Freshmen Gage Brymer, Joseph DiGiulio and Mackenzie McDonald are part of the No. 2 recruiting class in the nation who joined UCLA men’s tennis this year.
Having competed against each other on various occasions by virtue of growing up as top-ranked junior players, the three will have the opportunity to collectively compete for the UCLA men’s tennis team, which ended its past season with a runner-up finish in the NCAA championships.
In August, the three soon-to-be teammates competed against each other at the United States Tennis Association Boys’ 18 Championship.
“It definitely is special (playing a future teammate). The draw was definitely weird, playing (DiGiulio) first round then (Brymer) in the round of 16. It was awkward having all of the Bruins in that round of 16,” McDonald said. “Playing (Brymer) there was a little bit more on the line, we played on court one. There were nerves there, but at the same time it was pretty awesome, knowing that two great recruits are going to UCLA.”
No. 9 seed McDonald played both of his future teammates, first facing off against DiGiulio in the round of 128, winning 6-3, 6-3. He then faced no. 1 seed Brymer in the round of 16, where Brymer claimed victory with a 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5) win. Brymer ended up falling in the semifinals, but eventually won the third-place match.
“It is kind of weird playing a teammate because you still have to have that competitive side where he seems like an enemy, but you know you are going to be side by side with him in a couple of months,” Brymer said. “But I don’t think that stopped either of us, or held us back – knowing we’d be teammates. We both fought really hard and it was a super close match.”
The three Bruins have all faced off in the past on various occasions and have established relationships off the court. The notion of facing off against another teammate did not change their approach entering the matches, as they were able to put everything aside and make it all business on the court.
The friendships they already have is something that DiGiulio said he believes will add to the excitement of the three competing together this upcoming year.
“We grew up playing together; we’ve always been good friends off the court. I guess being competitive players, you kind of put everything aside for that match, and go out and play your best and try to win,” DiGiulio said. “I’m really excited (for the upcoming year). I’m good friends with both of them, so it will be really fun to be competing with each other on a team, and cheering each other on.”