Gage Brymer ends collegiate tennis career early after upper body surgery

Senior Gage Brymer’s collegiate career is over.

UCLA Athletics announced Thursday afternoon that Brymer underwent a season-ending upper body medical procedure, which will force him to miss the NCAA Tournament.

“It has been an honor and a privilege to coach Gage these past four seasons,” said coach Billy Martin, per UCLA Athletics. “I recruited him for his hard work mentality, leadership qualities, passion and love for the game of tennis, which he brought to our program day in and day out.”

The senior, who was TennisRecruiting.net’s No. 1 overall recruit coming out of high school, is expected to make a full recovery, allowing him to pursue a professional career following the conclusion of this season.

Brymer was slotted as the Bruins’ No. 1 singles player for the NCAA Tournament, and his absence shifts the rest of the roster up one slot. Junior Martin Redlicki will now compete at the top singles court, while senior Joe Di Giulio – originally seventh on the depth chart – is now penciled in at No. 6 singles with freshman Ben Goldberg moving up to seventh.

“Replacing a player like Gage is never easy, but I have complete confidence in our players to step up and help us make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament,” Martin said, according to UCLA Athletics.

This year, Brymer owned a 21-11 singles record, including a 10-7 mark in dual match play. He was one of 64 players selected in the NCAA individual singles bracket, but will also miss that due to the surgery.

In his four years at UCLA, Brymer had a combined record of 78-33 in singles and 31-23 in doubles. He reached a career high of No. 10 in the ITA singles ranking this February.