The Bruins have a chance to finish undefeated in Pac-12 play for the fourth year in a row.
No. 14 UCLA men’s tennis (14-4, 6-0 Pac-12) will take on No. 27 Arizona State (13-10, 4-2) and No. 24 Arizona (17-4, 3-3) on Friday and Saturday, respectively. The Bruins have won nine straight doubles points during their 10-match winning streak.
Redshirt sophomore Connor Rapp said that winning the doubles point to start off a match gives the Bruins momentum.
“To win the doubles point is huge no matter who you play,” Rapp said. “To only have to win three out of six singles matches helps our team a lot. It takes the pressure off of our singles players to have to win every match they play.”
Coach Billy Martin said the Bruins can’t rely on their doubles point, however, although it is a very helpful win when starting matches.
“It’s definitely very important, but not ultimately important,” Martin said. “I don’t try to make it too big a deal. That way, if it doesn’t go our way in doubles, we can still have the focus to come back and win the match.”
The Bruins have certain players on their roster that play either singles or doubles instead of both in a single match. Freshman Mathew Tsolakyan – who has been playing singles – said watching the doubles point has contributed to his play.
“The doubles point is pretty big,” Tsolakyan said. “When we’re winning doubles, only three of the six singles have to win, which is always possible if we bring our focus and play for the match.”
However, ASU will bring an eight-match doubles winning streak to Westwood on Friday. The ASU lineup boasts the No. 11 doubles pair in the country, Nathan Ponwith and Dominik Kellovsky. Two other ASU doubles teams were ranked in the top 70 as recently as March 5.
The Bruins’ court two doubles duo of Rapp and freshman Govind Nanda has won four and left two unfinished in their last six matches. Rapp said the experience they’ve earned playing together has helped them reach a high level.
“It’s really about confidence,” Rapp said. “We never really played together before, not in juniors, only a bit in preseason. So our first few matches together we struggled, but we won our first match at Stanford and have kept it rolling since.”
UCLA regularly juggled its doubles lineup in the first half of the season. Between injuries and duo changes, the Bruins started six different doubles lineups between Jan. 25 and Feb. 26.
Since having a constant doubles lineup set for UC Santa Barbara, UCLA has won every doubles point. Martin said cohesive success comes from individual teams performing well and creating team momentum.
“The momentum you create – it allows you to bounce back and stay successful,” Martin said. “Rapp and Nanda have both performed better recently. (Rapp’s) serving and volleying can do a lot for their success, and Govind has really had a chance to work on his doubles game more at UCLA.”
Injuries to players such as sophomore Keegan Smith and sophomore Connor Hance meant new lineups had to be formed in the beginning of the season. Only two players, Nanda and Tsolakyan, have played in the singles lineup for all 18 matches.
Tsolakyan said gaining the experience he has this year has helped him build his game for postseason play.
“Everybody is good; it doesn’t matter which team you’re playing,” Tsolakyan said. “There are no easy matches at this level. By playing more, I’m relaxed, playing point-by-point, which allows me to raise my level for each match we play.”
As UCLA wraps up its conference slate this weekend, two wins can seal an undefeated run in conference play and a fourth-straight Pac-12 regular season title for the Bruins.