Men’s tennis remains positive for next season following NCAA loss

Coming in as the No. 4 team in the country, expectations were high for the UCLA men’s tennis team.

And how could they not be high? Since Billy Martin took the reins as the head coach back in 1994, the Bruins have only missed the NCAA quarterfinals once, back in 2011.

Martin said he felt that the preseason ranking was indicative of their previous seasons’ record and not of how good the team actually is.

With the season over, those expectations were unfair. After the 2014 season, UCLA lost not only their two best players on the team, but the No. 1 and No. 2 players in the country.

Furthermore, the team was young. With only a lone senior, two juniors and a redshirt junior, the team was mostly comprised of underclassmen.

Having someone move up one spot in the singles lineup is already difficult, but to have freshmen and sophomores move up two spots is an even greater challenge.

Sophomore Mackie McDonald and senior Dennis Mkrtchian stepped up the best they could. Currently the nation’s No. 3 and No. 36 singles players respectively, they helped carry the team most of the year, being part of most of the wins for the Bruins this season. McDonald finished with a dual match record of 14-1; Mkrtchian finished with a record of 14-5.

The Bruins ended their season 17-10, the worst season they have had since 1988. In addition, UCLA missed the NCAA quarterfinals, now Martin’s second time during his tenure, after losing to No. 1 Oklahoma on Thursday.

Despite this very unfamiliar season for the team, UCLA did perform well in the NCAA Tournament. The loss to the Sooners in the round of 16 was not without reason for optimism, however, as the Bruins looked like a top team in that performance.

“This result wasn’t what we wanted. But I do think it shows that we can beat any team, I mean we almost beat the No. 1 team in the nation. We were right there,” said sophomore Joseph Di Giulio. “Even though our season didn’t go as planned, we still have a great team. Next year we are hoping to do better, and we will have a lot of talent.”

With Mkrtchian graduating, that leaves the No. 2 spot in the lineup to be filled and an opening for a new No. 3 doubles team.

There is some uncertainty about who might step up to take the spot at No. 2 singles, but the most qualified right now would be freshman Martin Redlicki, who had a tremendous freshman season. He had a 16-3 dual match record playing the majority of his time at the No. 3 singles position for the Bruins.

Martin said he expects most of the singles spots to be up for grabs next year and that it will depend on how much the players work over the summer. He said he also expects sophomore Gage Brymer to be back next year, as he was absent for most of the season. Brymer was the No. 2 recruit in the country out of high school, and posted a 18-3 dual match record playing No. 4 singles during his freshman year.

Moreover, UCLA will also be adding two five-star recruits, Max Cressy and Daniel Gealer, to the roster next year. They are the No. 33 and No. 44 recruits respectively, in the country according to Tennis Recruiting Network.

As far as doubles go next year, the Bruins are in great shape. They will only have to choose one new team and Martin will have all of fall quarter to experiment with the new pair.

All year Martin said that the Bruins were a young, scrappy team; wins were not going to come easy to them. Looking to next year, the team will no longer be that young, scrappy team. A majority of the players will be upperclassmen, and the team will have one of the best players in the nation in McDonald. Martin said it is hoped that with a more veteran team, UCLA will return to the elite team it has been for years.

Compiled by Korbin Placet, Bruin Sports reporter.