Men’s tennis to grapple with Florida Gators and Georgia Bulldogs

The last time UCLA men’s tennis traveled to SEC country in 2015, it lost to both Georgia and Florida.

Consider this weekend round two.

The No. 6 Bruins (4-0) will travel to Gainesville, Florida, to take on the No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs (3-0) and the No. 11 Florida Gators (4-0) on Saturday and Sunday in the final edition of the Pac-12/SEC Showdown.

Given the caliber of the teams – No. 8 USC is the other participant – and the location, UCLA expects a rowdy atmosphere for its first road trip of the year.

“They get some really big audiences there,” said junior Logan Staggs. “It’s definitely going to be a little intimidating, and there’s going to be a different feel being on (Florida’s) home court. It’s definitely going to be a huge advantage for them.”

While rankingswise the Bruins appear to be on an even playing field, coach Billy Martin said he wasn’t sure if his team deserves to be No. 6 and that they might have received a boost due to last year’s success.

“We have to prove that (ranking) to ourselves as much as to anybody else,” Martin said. “I’ve told the team I hope we haven’t gotten too much of a false sense of security by winning these first four matches.”

Georgia’s and Florida’s lineups will be the toughest UCLA has faced this season – the Bulldogs have five ranked players, led by No. 22 Wayne Montgomery, while the Gators have six, highlighted by No. 13 Alfredo Perez.

At the top of the Bruins’ lineup, No. 11 senior Gage Brymer is no stranger to his counterparts. Brymer defeated Perez in November at the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships and lost to Montgomery in three sets last season.

“I’ve been training with (those matches) in mind for the past week or so,” Brymer said. “I’m looking forward to getting another shot at Wayne, and I beat Alfredo so hopefully I can keep up that one-match winning streak against him.”

During Saturday’s matchup, both teams could potentially miss their 6-foot-7 players. Sophomore Maxime Cressy has not played in the past three dual matches after injuring his left thumb, while Georgia redshirt junior Paul Oosterbaan has only played one singles match since returning from a wrist injury he suffered in the fall.

Without Cressy, Staggs and Brymer have teamed together at No. 3 doubles for UCLA. The duo has a 1-1 record after splitting its matches against New Mexico and Lamar.

The Bulldogs enter this weekend having lost their past two dual matches against the Bruins.

Last year, then-No. 12 UCLA routed then-No. 6 Georgia 6-1. Two weeks later at the Division I National Men’s Team Indoor Championship, the Bruins rallied from a 3-2 deficit to top the Bulldogs 4-3. Martin said he expects emotions to be at the forefront due to the two teams’ recent results.

“I’m expecting Georgia to be pretty fired up to play us this year after we had two really good victories over them – close matches,” Martin said. “I’m sure that didn’t sit well with them, and I’m sure they’re looking forward to giving us a little payback.”