As UCLA Athletics takes a break for the summer, professional sports are still in full swing, with many Bruins representing. Each week during the summer, Daily Bruin Sports will look at the standout performances of UCLA alumni, current athletes and future stars as we count down the days until fall.

Men’s Tennis: Aadarsh Tripathi, Marcos Giron, Mackenzie McDonald

As head coach Billy Martin said after UCLA’s loss to Texas in the national quarterfinal, this summer is a pivotal moment for UCLA men’s tennis. It is a time marked by intense competition and training.

For No. 124 NCAA-ranked Aadarsh Tripathi, the upcoming season presents one final opportunity to win a national championship.

To continue honing his skills, the rising senior participated in a SoCal Pro Series tournament in Rancho Santa Fe, California over the weekend.

The SoCal Pro Series is a group of tournaments held throughout Southern California, where players compete for prize money and professional ranking points.

Tripathi competed in the tournament’s doubles section alongside California’s No. 55 NCAA-ranked Theo Dean.

Bridging their collegiate rivalry for the summer, the two Bay Area locals clinched the top doubles spot in Rancho Santa Fe, winning $465 apiece in prize money.

On Saturday, the pair won the tournament final in straight sets 6-1, 7-6(5) against ATP-ranked No. 659 Strong Kirchheimer and ATP-ranked No. 376 Finn Bass.

The win highlighted Tripathi’s strong doubles play, which earned him an All-American selection last season.

Elsewhere in the professional circuit, ATP-ranked No. 46 Marcos Giron strung together a series of singles wins at the Lexus Eastbourne Open – a professional tournament in the United Kingdom featuring the world’s top-ranked players.

The former Bruin defeated No. 56 Luciano Darderi 6-4, 7-5 and No. 51 Jacob Fearnley 6-3, 6-1 in the rounds of 32 and 16, respectively.

Giron takes on either No. 5 Taylor Fritz or No. 57 Joao Fonseca in the tournament’s quarterfinal Thursday morning.

Giron and fellow Bruin No. 90 Mackenzie McDonald – who lost in Lexus Eastbourne’s qualifiers – will also compete in the singles tournament at Wimbledon, which begins next week.

Gymnastics: Tiana Sumanasekera

A comeback does not need a perfect ending to matter.

After earning a spot as a non-traveling alternate for Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Tiana Sumanasekera stepped away from elite competition to recover from burnout.

And one year later – with her freshman season at UCLA fast approaching – Sumanasekera was ready to step back into the spotlight.

Sumanasekera competed with Team USA at the Pan American Championships on June 12 to 15 in Panama City, Panama. She was joined by fellow Olympian Hezly Rivera and a crop of rising elite gymnasts.

In 2023, Sumanasekera made her elite debut at Pan American Championships – taking gold in the all-around with a 53.900.

But this time around, Sumanasekera’s comeback was dampened by an ankle injury. While preparing to compete on floor, the Pleasanton local had a short landing, spraining a ligament and tendon in her ankle.

This setback didn’t mark the end of Sumanasekera’s return to competition though. She pushed through the injury and competed on beam, notching a 13.567 – only two tenths lower than her 2023 score.

The routine featured several changes from her 2024 beam routine, including a switch ring leap and various new connections.

Although her competition took an unexpected turn, Sumanasekera still came home with a medal. Team USA took home the team gold, earning a 164.765, securing the highest overall score on every event.

And with that, she got a taste of competition that will ease the transition into her collegiate career.

Men’s Soccer: Ryan Hollingshead, Frankie Amaya, Los Angeles Football Club

The Los Angeles Football Club entered its final match of the FIFA Club World Cup with zero goals.

As LAFC fans might see it, that generally doesn’t make for a very exciting tournament run.

But a goal in the 84th minute gave the players – including two former Bruins – a reason to cheer.

Former UCLA midfielders Frankie Amaya and Ryan Hollingshead of LAFC exited the Club World Cup on Tuesday night following a 1-1 tie against Clube de Regatas do Flamengo.

Although both teams entered the game having already solidified their fates in the group standings – LAFC unable to advance with two losses and Flamengo guaranteed a spot in the round of 16 with two victories – neither appeared to ease up. Each squad sent multiple shots off the goal frame throughout both halves before LAFC found the back of the net in the 84th minute, and Flamengo answered with a goal two minutes later.

Hollingshead, who made his 300th Major League Soccer regular season appearance earlier this month, started the match for LAFC as a wing midfielder in the team’s 3-4-3 lineup. Fellow Bruin Amaya, who joined the squad in April on loan from Liga MX’s Toluca F.C., came off the bench in the 89th minute.

While the pair both attended UCLA, Amaya and Hollingshead never crossed paths in the Bruin locker room. Hollingshead, who earned the Pac-12 Player of the Year honor as a senior, graduated in 2012 before being drafted by FC Dallas the following year. Amaya arrived at UCLA six seasons later, where he played for one year before pursuing soccer professionally as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 MLS SuperDraft.

Amaya and Hollingshead, two of the eight Bruins currently playing in the MLS will return to the field June 29 when LAFC faces Vancouver.