| Men’s Tennis |
|---|
| Illinois — 4 |
| UCLA — 2 |
The margin was there.
The opportunity was real.
But when the match reached its decisive moments, UCLA could not hold on.
No. 24 UCLA men’s tennis (13-6, 7-3 Big Ten) dropped a 4-2 result to No. 14 Illinois (20-5, 9-2 Big Ten) on Saturday afternoon at the Los Angeles Tennis Center, in a matchup that carried significant weight in the conference standings.
From the start, Illinois dictated the tone.
The doubles point, often where matches begin to tilt, went to the Fighting Illini.
Senior Aadarsh Tripathi and junior Andy Nguyen fell 6-3 on court one to Tyler Bowers and Gabriel Debru, while senior Gianluca Ballotta and redshirt junior Emon van Loben Sels dropped a 6-3 result on court three to No. 77 David Bakonyi and Zach Viiala. Both courts were tight early, but Illinois pulled away at the right moment, taking the opening point and early control of the match.
That edge quickly grew.
Illinois extended its lead to 2-0 after Viiala defeated sophomore Leo von Bismarck 6-1, 6-1 on court six, putting the Bruins in an early hole.
But UCLA responded.
Redshirt freshman Cassius Chinlund continued his strong season with a composed straight-sets win, defeating Sasha Colleu 6-3, 6-3 on court four. Not long after, Tripathi delivered one of UCLA’s biggest moments of the match. The senior battled past No. 93 William Mroz 6-4, 7-5 on court three, earning his first ranked singles win of the season and leveling the match at 2-2.
For a moment, the momentum had shifted.
Multiple courts tightened. The match hung in the balance.
But Illinois found its answer.
On court five, Adam Jilly recovered from a first-set loss to defeat freshman Bengt Reinhard 5-7, 6-2, 6-1, reclaiming the lead for the Fighting Illini. Soon after, all attention turned to court two.
There, No. 24 van Loben Sels faced No. 34 Debru in a match defined by fine margins. Both sets came down to tiebreaks. Both slipped away.
Debru edged van Loben Sels 7-6(4), 7-6(3), clinching the match for Illinois and ending UCLA’s push.
At the same time, sophomore No. 86 Rudy Quan was locked in a third set battle with No. 16 Kenta Miyoshi on court one, but the match went unfinished as the result had already been decided.
In the end, it was not a lack of fight that cost UCLA.
It was timing.
The Bruins showed resilience in singles, clawing back from an early deficit and putting themselves in position to win. But the early loss of the doubles point and a pair of tightly contested matches that slipped late proved to be the difference.
With postseason play approaching, UCLA now faces a clear reality.
It can compete with the conference’s best.
But to beat them, it must win the points that matter most.
UCLA will look to bounce back Sunday when it hostsNorthwestern at 11 a.m. PST.
