Many former Bruins are competing in professional sporting leagues as UCLA Athletics takes a break for the summer. Each week during the summer, Daily Bruin Sports will take a look at recent standout performances of former UCLA greats as the fall inches nearer.

Men’s tennis: Marcos Giron

Marcos Giron is back to winning big in singles – only this time, not for UCLA.

The 31-year-old defeated fellow American Alex Michelsen in three sets at Sunday’s Infosys Hall of Fame Open to cement the first ATP singles title of his career.

After dropping the first set in a tiebreak, Giron was forced to play catch-up against his teenage foe. Responding decisively, he clinched the second set by a margin of three games, followed by a 7-5 forced third set.

During the battle, Giron rescued match point with an ace – just one of his 13, compared to Michelsen’s zero – before securing the title in the same fashion. Giron has routinely proven his strength in the service game – his 63% service points won loom large over his 35% return point victories, as evidenced by the 16 games he held in the Newport, Rhode Island, tournament.

Giron’s efforts have positioned him at No. 38 nationally – his highest professional men’s singles ranking to date – reminiscent of his UCLA men’s tennis career. The Thousand Oaks, California, local arrived in Westwood as the No. 1 freshman recruit and exited with a No. 1 ITA singles ranking. In the interim, he captured UCLA’s 11th NCAA singles championship, earning ITA National Player of the Year for his efforts.

While Giron forwent his senior year eligibility in favor of the professional tennis pool in 2014, he didn’t see his first professional singles final until 2022.

Ten years later, and just weeks before his second Olympic appearance, he may have cracked the code – better late than never.

Men’s basketball: Jaime Jaquez Jr.

Jaime Jaquez Jr. is shedding his rookie skin for another Summer League jersey.

After joining fellow NBA players in Team USA’s Olympic training camp, the 2023 UCLA men’s basketball guard/forward extended his Las Vegas residency for two games with a spot on the NBA’s All-Summer League Second Team.

Last year, Jaquez – the No. 18 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft – placed fourth in Rookie of the Year voting for his season with the Miami Heat. This summer, the 6-foot-6 guard said he’s looking to bolster his NBA experience in a second stint on the rookie-dominated Summer League team.

In the Heat’s July 13 contest against the Boston Celtics, Jaquez blazed his team’s trail to victory, topping the scoreboard with 29 points. Though his long-range shooting – a noted weak spot during his time as a Bruin – remained subpar, his 55.6% field goal percentage sat above his Bruin rates.

Jaquez sealed the envelope on his 2024 Summer League outing July 16 by cracking down on the Oklahoma City Thunder behind a total 23-point performance, notching another win for the Heat. This time, he boasted a 60% 3-point percentage while raising his Summer League free throw average to 81%.

Though only playing in a handful of games, Jaquez still turned up the Heat for the summer.

Men’s volleyball: Ethan Champlin

After pocketing a second national championship, Ethan Champlin redirected his focus to the international stage.

In his fourth year on the U.S. men’s volleyball national team’s Pan American roster – where he is now the longest tenured member – the outside hitter began competition alongside fellow UCLA men’s volleyball teammates in former middle blocker Merrick McHenry and rising redshirt junior outside hitter Cooper Robinson on July 14.

Champlin was the Bruins’ top scorer in his final year on the team, recording 237 kills by season’s end. The outside hitter was named the NCAA championship’s Most Outstanding Player for his serieswide 42 kills before ascending to the Pan Am team.

The U.S. soared past its opponents, dropping its only matches of the contest to Canada – the defending champion. During the teams’ initial faceoff, Champlin’s nine attacks matched those of Robinson but weren’t enough to prevent the five-set loss.

In Team USA’s semifinal round against Cuba, Champlin recorded 12 attacks bolstered by Robinson’s seven. When going for gold, however, Champlin couldn’t maintain the same numbers – the former Bruin scored his only point of the affair in the first set, notching one block with no attacks.

While the U.S. emerged as the tournament’s offensive leader, ultimately boasting higher attack numbers than Canada throughout the finals, the team couldn’t quash its 12-year gold medal drought.