Men’s tennis falls short of securing singles title at ITA Southwest Regionals
UCLA men’s tennis sophomore Alexander Hoogmartens serves during a match. The Bruin turned in the deepest run among his teammates at the ITA Southwest Regional Championships over the weekend.
By Garrison Hallum
Oct. 27, 2022 12:59 p.m.
This post was updated Oct. 27 at 8:35 p.m.
Three Bruins secured round of 16 spots this past weekend while collecting wins against multiple top-50 opponents.
UCLA men’s tennis competed in the ITA Southwest Regional Championships over the weekend at the Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center, where one Bruin reached the final round of the men’s singles tournament.
Coach Billy Martin said he was pleased with the way his team performed and is looking forward to building on it.
“I was just encouraged, as a coach. I got a chance to see our regional opponents that we are going to play against a fair amount this year,” Martin said. “I really felt that we were comparable to any of those teams and that made me feel good.”
Martin added that team morale had been high throughout practice and preparations leading up to the competition.
“I was very happy with our practices and enthusiasm. We made the effort to drive over there the day before the tournament started to get a feel for the speed of the courts,” Martin said.
Every Bruin competing in the singles draw earned at least two wins for UCLA, with all seven making it past the first round.
No. 23 sophomore Alexander Hoogmartens went the farthest in the tournament for the blue and gold, earning a spot in the singles final. The sophomore defeated two top-50 opponents over the weekend during his run to the finals before falling in the title match by a 5-7, 6-1, 6-3 final score.
Martin said he was especially proud of Hoogmartens’s performance.
“I would say Alex Hoogmartens’s run to the finals was probably the highlight. He had quite a few good wins going into it,” Martin said. “He had a great comeback in the semifinals against the young man from Pepperdine in front of a home crowd.”
Hoogmartens said he felt good about his performance, especially given the high volume of tennis he played during the tournament.
“I feel very positive. I played nine matches in a row, and I managed to win most of the matches,” Hoogmartens said. “I played good tennis, and I was always there in the important matches.”
UCLA freshman Azuma Visaya and sophomore Giacomo Revelli both picked up ranked wins as well, with Revelli also making the round of 16 later on in the competition.
Both Visaya and Revelli earned their ranked wins against competitors from cross-town rival USC, picking up victories against No. 76 Lodewijk Weststrate and No. 44 Bradley Frye, respectively.
The Bruins will compete next in the Southern California Intercollegiate Championships, which are set to start Thursday at Marks Stadium in Los Angeles.
