This post was updated April 18 at 10:42 p.m.

As the ball spun toward the right alley, Aadarsh Tripathi looked to the stands and brought his fingers to his lips.

But he didn’t cheer – the freshman’s usual bellows didn’t echo around the Los Angeles Tennis Center.

UCLA men’s tennis (12-7, 3-3 Pac-12) handily swept UC San Diego (7-16, 0-4 Big West) on Monday, taking care of business in just over an hour and a half of play.

Tripathi said he was feeling a bit under the weather, which contributed to his lack of noise, adding that his goal was to stay locked in while harboring his usually noticeable excitement.

“I was still pumped internally. I just wasn’t letting it out externally,” Tripathi said.

Despite the rare absence of shouts, the chef’s kiss wasn’t an anomaly.

Tripathi said the celebration is a ritual he does with team manager and third-year physiological science student Aria Movassaghi whenever he executes a soft touch.

“Every time I hit a touch shot, it’s a chef’s kiss,” Tripathi said. “It’s perfection.”

Along with Tripathi’s yells, the LATC was also largely bereft of the home crowd chants that normally fill the stadium.

But that didn’t take away the Bruins’ advantage.

The Tritons never accumulated more than four games throughout any of the afternoon’s sets, as the Bruins displayed confidence and control on their home courts.

Coach Billy Martin said the quality of play can sometimes drop when facing ostensibly easy opponents but noted that wasn’t the case Monday.

“We came out and played fairly high-level tennis – took care of business,” Martin said.

First-time doubles pairing Tripathi and freshman Azuma Visaya clinched the doubles point in less than 30 minutes after redshirt senior Patrick Zahraj and freshman Gianluca Ballotta bageled their opponents 6-0.

That same focus carried over into singles, where UCLA continued to be aggressive.

Ballotta, as well as the other five starting Bruins, played patiently, picking and choosing his spots as he delivered powerful groundstrokes. The freshman said his health and stamina have improved in recent days, boosting his match play.

“I’ve been doing a little bit more conditioning,” Ballotta said. “Now, I feel in better shape, so that definitely helped.”

Although his match was left unfinished, Ballotta won his first set 6-1 and was up 4-3 by the time sophomore Giacomo Revelli clinched the match.

Martin emphasized that winning their two weekend matches against Washington and Oregon boosted his team’s morale and inspired some of the confidence seen on Monday.

“We felt like, ‘Gosh, that was a good shot in the arm confidence-wise,’” Martin said. “To wake up and have a chance to do it again is fun.”