UCLA men’s tennis doesn’t go inside often.
But the No. 7 Bruins (5-1) are gearing up to face the Tulsa Golden Hurricane (4-5) on Monday, knowing one of their biggest challenges is merely the transition from outdoor courts to indoor courts.
“The courts are generally much faster, so it’s going to require us to have a more aggressive mentality in serving, and volleying a little bit more, and getting to the net a little bit more,” said coach Billy Martin. “Those are the adjustments that are catching us a little off guard because we play so little indoor tennis.”
The players said it is important for them to feel comfortable playing on these indoor courts in order to secure a win in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
“We haven’t played indoors all year,” said junior Martin Redlicki. “It would be good to go down there early to get more practices and adapt to the indoor courts.”
The team sees the Tulsa game as integral for its preparation for future indoor matches, especially for the upcoming ITA Division I National Men’s Team Indoor Championship in Charlottesville, Virginia.
“We have to to get a bit more of indoor tennis under our belts before we head to Virginia,” Martin said. “Last year, the team was a little bit shocked in the beginning of playing in indoor tennis.”
Monday’s match is also an opportunity for UCLA to bounce back from its loss against Florida last week.
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“We lost to Florida without a fight, and we need to start faster and don’t give up any leads,” said junior Logan Staggs. “The Florida game shows us that we can be beaten, and it showed that there’s no guarantees, especially going into future games.”
Tulsa has 23rd-ranked Or Ram-Harel and 115th-ranked Majed Kilani at No. 1 and No. 2 singles, but UCLA hopes it will have the firepower to counter them.
The Bruins will rely on their own 19th-ranked senior Gage Brymer and 73rd-ranked Redlicki, who are a combined 8-2 on the top two singles courts.
Besides Redlicki and Brymer, Bruin freshman Evan Zhu heads into Tulsa with a four-match winning streak in doubles with his partner Redlicki – doubles play is heavily counted on to deliver a win Monday.
“The success of our doubles teams is going to be key against Tulsa,” Martin said.
[Related: UCLA looks to build on doubles success in future matchups]
The Golden Hurricane come into the match on a four-match losing streak after their 7-0 blowout loss to Tennessee on Friday.
Only time will tell if UCLA can adapt to the faster-paced indoor courts.
“We are going to give it everything we got for the next game and the rest of the season,” said Martin.