Following 10 matches in five days of action, UCLA men’s tennis sophomore Mackenzie McDonald stood holding the championship plaques for both singles and doubles at the USTA/ITA Southwest Regional Championships.
On Tuesday, McDonald, along with teammates and coaches, made the short drive over to Malibu to play at Pepperdine’s Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center for the final day of the tournament.
As the No. 1 seed, he started off the morning by defeating No. 2 Jonny Wang of USC in three sets in the championship match, claiming a 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory.
Following a short rest, he and freshman teammate Martin Redlicki took down fellow UCLA teammates, sophomore Joseph Di Giulio and junior Karue Sell to claim the doubles championship. The No. 2 seed McDonald and Redlicki came back to barely win over third-seeded Di Giulio and Sell, 4-6, 6-1, (11-9).
“I beat a lot of good players, which I’m happy about,” McDonald said. “Taking some SC wins was good, so I definitely have some confidence going into the next few tournaments.”
McDonald will most likely sit out of next week’s Southern California Intercollegiate Championships, which is held on UCLA’s campus at the Los Angeles Tennis Center, in order to rest and prepare for the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships in Flushing Meadows, N.Y., which starts on Nov. 6.
“He really came through and looked comfortable doing the things we’ve been trying to get him to work on, so that’s invaluable,” said coach Billy Martin. “It adds a lot of confidence for him, especially going into the New York tournament that’s coming up. That’s a very big one. One that I know he’ll want to do very well in. This hopefully will head him to New York with a lot of confidence.”
His victory awarded him direct acceptance into the tournament, even though he had already earned a spot in the tournament with his consolation singles title at the ITA Men’s All-American Championships earlier this month in Tulsa, Okla.
With the doubles crown, McDonald and Redlicki will play doubles at the USTA/ITA National Indoors in New York, as well.
“I knew I was going to play (singles) after Tulsa, I was really stoked about that. But playing doubles too now, I’m really pumped about that,” McDonald said. “I think it’s an improvement from last year, because I only got to play doubles. So this year, it should be fun.”
Compiled by Jason Drantch, Bruin Sports reporter.