Coach Billy Martin expected a battle, and he got one.
While Arizona men’s basketball put the finishing touches on its upset in Pauley Pavilion, another one was brewing at the Sunset Canyon Recreation Center’s tennis courts.
UC Santa Barbara won the doubles point to open the match against UCLA men’s tennis, and then with the score 3-2 in favor of the Bruins, the Gauchos sent the final two singles courts to the decisive third set.
“I was worried about UCSB because it’s a good doubles team,” Martin said. “Their No. 1 team has been strong all year. But they have great leadership with four seniors and that’s always scary, in my opinion.”
Luckily, the Bruins still had senior Gage Brymer and junior Martin Redlicki, both of whom Martin considers to be among the best competitors in the country.
“It gives me confidence, to have them,” Martin said. “Especially when it came down to the last two matches at one and two – one senior and one junior, as battle-tested as any of our guys.”
His trust paid off as Brymer and Redlicki both won their matches, as No. 7 UCLA (2-0) fought off UCSB (2-1) by a score of 5-2 Saturday afternoon.
Senior Joseph Di Giulio and junior Logan Staggs – on courts four and five, respectively – led the Bruins’ charge from the bottom half of the singles lineup by both winning in straight sets. Staggs, who missed parts of the fall season with an elbow injury, defeated UCSB’s Cody Rakela 6-3, 7-6.
“The initial time to recover was six weeks,” Staggs said. “Coming back onto the court feels pretty nice but I’d also say a little rusty, I took a lot of time off obviously for the injury, so two matches under my belt feels pretty good.”
With sophomore Maxime Cressy out with a left thumb injury, Staggs played doubles for the first time at UCLA. He partnered with Brymer on court three, but their match went unfinished. The lefty’s only previous collegiate doubles experience, according to him, was one dual match in his freshman year at Northwestern.
Di Giulio also finds himself in a new situation this season. After playing doubles the past two years with 2016 graduate Karue Sell, the senior has teamed with junior Austin Rapp at No. 2 doubles against Grand Canyon and UCSB. And Di Giulio has had to adjust to with the differences in his partners’ style of game.
“Austin’s a much bigger player. He’s obviously a lot taller and has a bigger serve, and Karue’s probably a better returner,” Di Giulio said. “Austin and I have been playing together for a little while, so we have a little bit of chemistry.”
Rapp, at court six, won UCLA’s first singles point for the second consecutive match. The junior lost only seven games combined in two straight-set victories over UCSB’s Anders Holm and the Grand Canyon’s Gregoire Balenci.
Next up for the Bruins is the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Kickoff Weekend, which also serves as the National Indoors Qualifying Tournament. New Mexico, Boise State, Lamar and UCLA will compete for a spot at the Division I National Men’s Team Indoor Championship in mid-February.