Women’s tennis
Olivia Simons, Daily Bruin senior staff

It has been 18 days since the Bruins played a dual match and over a month since they played one at home.

UCLA women’s tennis (2-3) will take the courts at the Los Angeles Tennis Center for the first time in 33 days following a two-week break after failing to qualify for the ITA Indoor Championships and having a match canceled by rain. The Bruins will take on two Southern California opponents this weekend, with a match against Loyola Marymount (1-3) on Friday and a contest against Cal State Fullerton (4-1, 1-0 Big West) on Saturday.

These matches come after UCLA saw itself swept in back-to-back matches by then-No. 17 Duke and then-No. 12 Ohio State on Feb. 3 and Feb. 4, respectively. With a longer-than-average break in dual-match action, coach Stella Sampras Webster said the Bruins have used the time off to get valuable training in.

“(We) took advantage of training, and just them competing against each other is good,” Sampras Webster said. “But, we’re ready to play. We want to play.”

The time off also gave UCLA the chance to prepare for its last nonconference matches of the season against unranked foes. Individually, Fullerton has one ranked singles player and UCLA two, but none of the three teams boast ranked doubles teams, with Sampras Webster mixing up different Bruin combinations throughout the season.

UCLA has never lost a match to Fullerton with 21 wins under its belt. The Bruins swept the Lions last season for their 27th win against LMU with only one loss on record in the 2022 season opener. Then-freshman Tian Fangran and Ava Catanzarite paired up on doubles in the 2023 sweep, but this is now an impossible combination with Catanzarite’s transfer to Oklahoma for her junior season.

Tian said she trusts Sampras Webster to pair her with anyone on the team.

“It’s still really early in the season,” Tian said. “Everyone on the team has a really good doubles ability. … We fully trust her (Sampras Webster), and I think we’re going to do great.”

Thus, UCLA will see new doubles teams and the end to its lengthy hiatus this weekend with its matchup against LMU at 1:30 p.m. on Friday and against Fullerton at 11 a.m. on Saturday.

Men’s tennis
Lamar Tuker, Daily Bruin contributor

A perfect all-time record against an opponent often breeds complacency.

But coach Billy Martin said despite a 7-0 streak against the Rebels, the Las Vegas arsenal is not one to underestimate.

“As we improve and get better with our younger players, I think that the future looks good for us,” Martin said. “But we don’t want to overlook anybody. We’re going to be ready for UNLV come next Sunday.”

UCLA men’s tennis (4-2) is set to host UNLV (5-3) on Sunday at the Los Angeles Tennis Center. Having split their home matches this season, the Bruins will have a chance to register a winning home record on the back of a four-game winning streak.

Freshman Spencer Johnson reigned in his fifth win of the season against Pepperdine on Sunday, preserving UCLA’s streak with a third-set dagger.

“If it’s not your best day, or you’re not playing great, or you’re close to losing a match, I think it’s always important to just keep fighting, because things could end up changing pretty quickly,” Johnson said.

The Bruins have quickly surpassed their longest winning streak of their 2022-2023 campaign, boasting four on the board six games into the season.

Johnson said there is more to a win than physical capabilities.

“If you just stay in it mentally and keep fighting, there’s always a chance,” Johnson said.

Sunday’s affair bears the weight of extending or exterminating a historical streak.