The No. 32-ranked UCLA Bruins’ men’s tennis team delivered a commanding performance on a sunny Sunday afternoon, defeating the No. 28-ranked Michigan State Spartans 4-1 at the Los Angeles Tennis Center. The Bruins bounced back from a dropped doubles point to dominate singles play, showcasing depth and resilience in their final home match of the Big Ten regular season.
Doubles action saw Michigan State strike first, taking the point with wins on courts one and three. The Spartans’ top pair of Ozan Baris and Matthew Forbes set the tone early, cruising past Alexander Hoogmartens and Giacomo Revelli 6-2 on court one. On court three, Max Sheldon and Mitchell Sheldon edged out Gianluca Ballotta and Emon van Loben Sels 6-4. UCLA avoided a sweep thanks to Spencer Johnson and Aadarsh Tripathi, who fought back on court two for a 6-3 win over Vuk Radjenovic and Daniel Rakhmatullayev, but the Spartans held the early 1-0 lead.
However, single play flipped the script. UCLA came out firing, with four players securing straight-set victories to seal the match. No. 34-ranked Rudy Quan led the charge on court one, dismantling No. 9 Baris 6-1, 6-2 in a statement win—his ninth in his last ten matches. Hoogmartens shook off a first-set loss on court four, storming back to defeat Radjenovic 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 with relentless baseline play. Van Loben Sels kept the momentum rolling on court two, topping Max Sheldon 6-2, 6-4. Tripathi clinched the victory on court five, outlasting Mitchell Sheldon 6-4, 6-4 for his third clincher of the season.
Michigan State, now 14-8 overall and 4-6 in Big Ten play, showed flashes of grit but couldn’t match UCLA’s firepower. UCLA improves to 11-8 overall and 9-2 in conference play, cementing their strong debut in the Big Ten. The Bruins head out next for a road trip to wrap up conference play, starting with Wisconsin on Friday, April 18.
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