Only one match stands between the Bruins and an undefeated home record in the regular season.
“One more win,” said No. 94 senior Logan Staggs. “(Then) we solidify our home turf here (at Los Angeles Tennis Center).”
No. 2 UCLA men’s tennis (22-2, 7-0 Pac-12) will play its final match before the start of the Pac-12 Tournament against Utah (19-6, 2-4 Pac-12) on Friday.
Though the contest against the Utes will be the final regular season home match, coach Billy Martin said it will likely not be the last match the Bruins play on their home courts.
“I’m hoping we will still have two more home matches for the NCAA regional tournament,” Martin said. “I’m feeling very confident that we’ll host those first two rounds as we have in previous years.”
UCLA, which is undefeated in conference play, went unbeaten in its two-week road trip, triumphing over USC, Arizona State and Arizona.
“The guys seem to have come out the road trip somewhat unscathed,” Martin said. “Not tired, not injured.”
Utah is coming off a four-match dry spell against Pac-12 teams. Aside from conference play, most of Utah’s opponents have been unranked.
With an undefeated conference record, UCLA will earn the top seed in the Pac-12 Tournament – which they haven’t won since 2016.
“I’m super excited we’re going to be the (No. 1) seed,” Staggs said.
The Bruins have seen the most trouble in the Pac-12 from Stanford and USC. The Cardinal beat the Bruins prior to the start of conference play, and UCLA’s most recent match against the Trojans was decided by a single match on court five.
“I’m anticipating USC and Stanford being on the other half (of the draw),” Martin said. “We won’t have to play both of them to get to the finals. Let them beat up on each other a little bit.”
In addition to being a chance to defend its unbeaten record, the match against Utah also marks Senior Day for UCLA. Seniors Martin Redlicki, Austin Rapp and Staggs will all be recognized this Friday.
“It’s exciting being (in) my last year along with two other seniors,” Rapp said. “Going into the end of the year, this is right where we wanted to be.”