The UCLA men’s tennis team, currently ranked No. 22, is preparing to face crosstown rival and No. 14-ranked USC at David X. Marks Tennis Stadium on Saturday, Feb. 21 at 1 p.m. PT. Both teams come into the match with three consecutive wins; UCLA holds a season record of 5-2, while USC stands at 7-3.
Fans can follow live coverage of the match via USC’s video and stats portal (https://usctrojans.com/sports/2020/2/19/usc-trojans-m-tennis-live-scoreboard-video-david-marks-stadium), as well as through updates on the UCLA men’s tennis X account.
Historically, UCLA leads the all-time series against USC with a record of 90-61. The last meeting between these programs saw UCLA secure a 6-1 victory over USC in March 2021.
In their most recent outing, UCLA achieved a decisive 7-0 win over UNLV at Los Angeles Tennis Center on Feb. 15, marking their third straight victory. Key contributions came from Gianluca Ballotta, Rudy Quan, and Emon van Loben Sels—each winning twice—with van Loben Sels clinching the overall team win.
As of Feb. 19 rankings: Emon van Loben Sels is listed at No. 26 in singles nationally, Spencer Johnson at No. 61, and Rudy Quan at No.105; in doubles, Quan and Aadarsh Tripathi are ranked No.33—a career high for Quan.
Redshirt junior Emon van Loben Sels has developed a reputation for excelling under pressure late in matches: “With all eyes on Court 3…the next three points would go the way of van Loben Sels…to give UCLA a team victory.” His performance also sealed victories against top opponents during critical tournament moments and broke Ohio State’s notable home streak.
Several Bruins are nearing individual milestones: Spencer Johnson has accumulated 96 total wins across singles and doubles matches; Aadarsh Tripathi has earned 84; and van Loben Sels sits at 95 combined victories.
Recent honors include Rudy Quan being named Men’s Tennis Player to Watch in the Big Ten (Jan.9) and Spencer Johnson receiving Big Ten Player of the Week (Oct.22).
During fall competition, four Bruins participated in NCAA Championship individual draws for both singles and doubles events after qualifying through strong showings at regional championships.
Reflecting on last season (2024-25), UCLA finished with a record of 19-9 overall (11-2 Big Ten). The Bruins won their first Big Ten Tournament championship by defeating top-seeded Ohio State—a result that ended Ohio State’s long-standing home winning streak—and later reached their inaugural NCAA quarterfinal after overcoming USC again.
“UCLA on April27,2025 claimed its first-ever Big Ten Conference title and snapped top-seeded Ohio State’s76-match home winning streak–which dated back to2021–to do so,” according to official sources.
Returning this year are four of six top singles players including All-Americans Spencer Johnson and Aadarsh Tripathi alongside standout Emon van Loben Sels—who posted team-leading records last season—and Big Ten Freshman of the Year Rudy Quan.
New additions to this year’s roster include Cassius Chinlund (a former USTA junior champion), Andy Nguyen (previously awarded Big West Freshman of the Year while at UC Irvine), and Bengt Reinhard from Germany who has won national titles in his age group categories there.
Former Bruin players continue to compete professionally with Maxime Cressy, Marcos Giron—currently ranked ATP No.64—and Mackenzie McDonald among those achieving significant results worldwide in Grand Slam tournaments or ATP events in recent years.
Marcos Giron climbed as high as ATP world No.37 after capturing his first tour title against Alex Michelsen during the2024 Hallof Fame Open.
Mackenzie McDonald notably defeated Rafael Nadal early in2023 Australian Open play.
Jean-Julien Rojer secured his fourth Grand Slam doubles title at Roland-Garros(2022).
Maxime Cressy reached an ATP singles ranking high of31 before stepping away from competition due to injury issues last year.
Head coach Billy Martin enters his33rd year leading the program(43rd overall with staff). Martin is now both longest-serving active coach at UCLA—as well as holding its all-time coaching wins record—with an overall head-coaching mark standing at681–177(.794). Under Martin’s guidance,UCLA teams have collected multiple conference titles—including five since joining new leagues—and produced several NCAA individual champions.
