Students – adorned in blue and gold – littered UCLA on Saturday for the Class of 2029’s Bruin Day.

But another contingent – proudly wearing white and green – got its first taste of Westwood on Sunday.

Michigan State men’s tennis (14-8, 9-3 Big Ten), who faced UCLA (11-8, 9-2) for the first time in program history, started the affair at the Los Angeles Tennis Center loud enough. A Spartan yelled, “Spartans, what is your profession?” – a nod to the film “300” – during the team’s pre-match huddle, and others chanted, “go white, go green” as doubles play got underway.

But as the afternoon went along, the chants quieted as the Spartans had less and less to cheer about.

All UCLA had to say after its third straight win was “Bye-bye” to its Midwest conference foe, who lost 4-1.

For the first time since Jan. 26, the Bruins won a dual match despite dropping the doubles point.

Sophomore Spencer Johnson joined the doubles lineup for a second straight contest after last playing Feb. 2 due to injury, battling alongside junior Aadarsh Tripathi for the first time in his dual-match career.

“Things are looking better for us as far as guys being healthy,” said coach Billy Martin. “We’ll have a full squad to go for our conference tournament and for NCAA championships.”

After falling in a 6-1 loss alongside freshman Rudy Quan Friday to Michigan, Johnson took his doubles set 6-3 with Tripathi.

“He was a bundle of nerves a little bit on Friday,” Martin said. “Today, he seemed so much more relaxed – at peace with himself. … He looked like himself a lot more out there. Is he playing his best tennis? No, but that’ll come.”

Martin said he could see No. 24 Johnson return to the Bruins’ singles lineup as soon as next weekend but added that the decision is ultimately up to how the sophomore’s body responds.

Despite Johnson and Tripathi’s early triumph, the Spartans took sets on courts one and three to secure the doubles point.

That’s as close as Michigan State would get to securing a win, however.

No. 34 Quan upset No. 9 Ozan Baris 6-1, 6-2 in singles play to even the score but said his opponent wasn’t playing at full strength.

“He was a bit hobbled – I think his hamstring hurt,” Quan said. “I just had to give him my very best out there and just keep on fighting and making sure he earned every point.”

Martin said he agreed with Quan’s assessment but added that he was proud the freshman didn’t hold back against his highly touted opponent.

The Spartans were also without No. 31 Aristotelis Thanos, presumably due to injury, Martin said, but he added that he doesn’t necessarily feel bad for them because the Bruins have rarely been at 100% this season.

Alexander Hoogmartens rebounded from a 6-3 first set loss to Vuk Radjenovic with back-to-back breadsticks, giving UCLA a 2-1 lead and securing the senior his third straight singles victory.

“I wasn’t really happy with my level,” Hoogmartens said. “I just kept going. I know I can win even with bad tenants on court number four. All I want to do is stay undefeated on court four.”

No. 87 redshirt sophomore Emon van Loben Sels defeated No. 94 Max Sheldon 6-2, 6-4 to put the Bruins on the brink of victory, and No. 113 Tripathi took down Max’s younger brother, Mitchell Sheldon, 6-4, 6-4 to put the nail in the Spartans’ coffin – imitating Cristiano Ronaldo’s “Siuuu” celebration before shaking his opponent’s hand.

UCLA won’t see UC San Diego

UCLA has canceled its Senior Day against UC San Diego Tuesday, a UCLA Athletics spokesperson said Monday morning, citing injury concerns just ahead of each team’s conference tournament and the NCAA tournament.

The Bruins had originally added the match March 20, with Martin speaking to the importance of Senior Day after Sunday’s win over the Spartans.

“They’ve (seniors Hoogmartens and Giacomo Revelli) devoted four years of their life to playing for UCLA and have done an excellent job,” Martin said. “We want to mark it as a special day for them. It’s come and gone really fast for them, for me, for their teammates.”

However, it seems the team will instead be turning its attention to the Midwest as it closes out its regular season on the road.

Hoogmartens said he treated Sunday like his final match in Westwood, uncertain whether or not he’d get the nod for Tuesday’s nonconference affair, even before its cancellation. Revelli’s father made the trip from Italy to see his son play against Michigan State, Martin said.

The coach added Sunday that players like freshman Leo von Bismarck, who’ve yet to appear in 2025, could get a start against the Tritons, but it appears he won’t get the chance.

Hoogmartens said he’s hoping to attend graduate school and play a fifth year of collegiate tennis but has yet to receive admission.

Ultimately, Martin said the goal is that neither Sunday nor Tuesday would be anyone’s last match in Westwood.

“These two wins this weekend for the rankings will get us close to the top 20,” Martin said. “If we could finish off these next two weeks, with some incredible wins, who knows, we’re hoping we could have an incredible two weeks and be hosting first two rounds of NCAA (tournament) here.”