The UCLA men’s tennis team left Chicago on Sunday with another story of what could have been. The No. 10 Bruins dropped tight matches to the No. 7-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels and No. 19-ranked Ole Miss Rebels at this weekend’s USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships, adding to a list of close early-season losses to […]
Author Archives: Matt Cummings
Manager Raymond Ajoc strings men’s tennis team together
For six years, Raymond Ajoc lived about 100 steps away from a tennis court. But, for the six years before high school, he had never used it. It was his freshman year of high school and he had recently seen Rafael Nadal win the French Open with a gritty playing style that defied Ajoc’s preconceived […]
No. 10 men’s tennis sweeps St. Mary’s in showcase of squad depth
With his team set to head to the ITA Division I National Men’s Team Indoor Championship Tuesday, coach Billy Martin used a pair of home matches this weekend to keep his squad prepared from top to bottom. In Sunday’s match against St. Mary’s, Martin rested sophomore Mackenzie McDonald and senior Dennis Mkrtchian, who have thus […]
No. 7 Mackenzie McDonald dominates SEC/Pac-12 Showdown singles play
Sophomore Mackenzie McDonald said he was not disappointed in himself. His coach was. “It wasn’t anything about him playing badly; he just lost concentration,” said coach Billy Martin after McDonald, the No. 7 singles player in the nation, was pushed to the brink in the first set against Pepperdine’s unranked Guilherme Hadlich Jan. 23. “He’s […]
Bruins face top-25 teams in weekend matches for SEC/Pac-12 Challenge
Though Westwood and Athens, Ga., are over 2,000 miles apart, UCLA coach Billy Martin is no stranger to the national prominence of the Georgia men’s tennis program. Having fallen at the hands of the Bulldogs in three NCAA Championships as a coach, Martin will once again bring his Bruins to Athens, Ga. this weekend. This […]
UCLA men’s tennis qualifies for ITA indoor championship
He didn’t scream, pump his fist or beat his chest. As Karue Sell walked to the net to shake his opponent’s hand, all he did was throw his head back and laugh. “Honestly, I had no idea how it happened,” Sell said after clinching his team’s 4-1 victory over Texas Tech University (6-2) on Saturday […]
Men’s tennis overcomes shaky lineup to defeat Irvine in season opener
Coach Billy Martin said he was worried. As his team prepared for its first match of the regular season against UC Irvine, his lineup was up in the air. With sophomore Gage Brymer away for personal reasons and freshman Martin Redlicki sitting out the singles portion to rest up for the weekend, the Bruins would […]