Gage Brymer remembers making the trip up from Irvine to Westwood almost every spring of high school. The occasion? UCLA v. USC. The matches, charged by the intense rivalry between the two teams, were some of the only college tennis matches the UCLA men’s tennis freshman watched growing up.
On Friday, Brymer will get a chance to finish off his first regular season at UCLA by taking a firsthand role in the rivalry. He and the No. 5 Bruins travel across town to take on No. 3 USC in the tennis powerhouses’ third meeting this season.
Senior Clay Thompson, the team’s No. 1 singles player, said that Brymer will have the opportunity to play a key role in influencing the course of the match.
“Gage’s (match) is probably going to be a very pivotal match for us,” Thompson said, “and so far there’s been nobody better in big matches than Gage.”
With such a big match on the horizon, Brymer looks set to rise to the occasion. Of late, he has been trying to be more aggressive in his game and has begun to see the benefits of this change in his play.
“I’ve been working on hitting more balls into the corner and giving myself the chance to go up to the net and volley,” Brymer said. “That’s something I’ve had a lot of success with in doubles, and I think the improvements in my transition game have really helped my singles play.”
According to Brymer, this has significantly augmented his confidence, something that will be crucial as the Bruins near the season’s home stretch. The Pac-12 tournament begins five days after the USC match, with the NCAA tournament coming up shortly after.
“It’s going to be exciting, playing in my first Pac-12 tournament and my first NCAA tournament,” Brymer said. “I’m definitely looking forward to the next few weeks.”
Coach Billy Martin also spoke of his excitement to see how Brymer and his fellow freshmen respond to this new challenge, starting with Friday’s match.
“This is what we‘ve prepared for, trained for this whole year,” Martin said. ”It’s all coming to a head, and after the next few matches it’s do or die – which adds a new dimension to it. It’ll definitely be exciting.”