The UCLA men’s tennis team, ranked No. 20 nationally, won its seventh straight match with a 4-2 victory over Michigan in Big Ten Conference play on March 27 at the Varsity Tennis Center in Ann Arbor.
This win keeps UCLA (12-3, 6-0 Big Ten) undefeated in conference play and continues their strong season. The Bruins established an early lead, but Michigan (7-8, 3-4) narrowed the gap twice before UCLA clinched the win.
Freshman Bengt Reinhard secured the deciding point for UCLA by defeating Pierce Shaya on Court 6 with a score of 6-3, 6-4. Other singles victories for the Bruins came from Cassius Chinlund and Emon van Loben Sels. Chinlund posted a decisive win against Alex Cairo on Court 5, finishing his match at 6-3, 6-0. Van Loben Sels defeated Mert Oral on Court 3 with scores of 6-2 and 6-4.
In doubles play, van Loben Sels paired with Spencer Johnson to beat Max Dahlin and Pierce Shaya on the top court. Andy Nguyen and Aadarsh Tripathi then secured another doubles point for UCLA by winning against Alex Cairo and Bjorn Swenson.
Michigan’s points came from Max Dahlin’s win over Johnson on Court 1 and Nicholas Steiglehner’s victory against Nguyen on Court 4. One singles match between Rudy Quan (UCLA) and Bjorn Swenson (Michigan) was unfinished when play concluded.
UCLA will finish its road trip Sunday by facing Michigan State at MSU Tennis Center.
