The Westwood bunch matched the sweltering Arizona sun with a heater.

UCLA men’s tennis participated in the ITA Southwest Regionals from Oct. 16 to Oct. 21 at Kiwanis Tennis Center in Tempe, Arizona. The Bruins secured all three possible spots for November’s NCAA singles and doubles championships in Orlando, Florida.

Sophomore Rudy Quan and ITA No.19 junior Spencer Johnson won their respective singles semifinals, and Johnson teamed up with redshirt junior Emon van Loben Sels to capture the doubles championship.

“Spencer had won the same singles tournament (last year) and had a phenomenal regional tournament,” said coach Billy Martin. “So I guess I wasn’t nearly as shocked with him doing so well.”

Martin added that Quan received a tough draw and pushed through contentious matches to clinch his victories.

Quan battled fellow Bruin senior Aadarsh Tripathi in the semifinal round, with a trip to the NCAA championships on the line. The pair had previously lost a match in the doubles quarterfinal.

“It’s tough,” Quan said. “He’s my teammate, and also he’s a really good friend. … But at the end of the day, we are both trying to do our best out there, so when we go out on the court, we have got to just focus on ourselves and handle business.”

Martin said he gave his players space to prepare but had worries about the match’s emotional toll.

“Unfortunately, some of the worst circumstances I have ever had as a coach is when a couple of my guys have played and it gets really heated,” Martin said. “I always hold my breath, quite honestly.”

Martin said he appreciated his players’ ability to maintain mutual respect and remain professional despite the competitive fervor.

Ultimately, Quan emerged victorious 6-2, 6-1. Martin praised Tripathi’s performance despite the senior’s tournament exit.

“The nicest surprise was Aadarsh,” Martin said. “Probably as good a tennis as I’ve ever seen him play here at UCLA. He won a lot of close matches getting to that semifinals against Rudy, beat really good players and also played really good doubles with Rudy.”

The Bruin head honcho also gave playing opportunities to transfer underclassmen and freshman recruits throughout the weekend. Sophomores Andrei Crabel and Leo von Bismarck along with freshman Bengt Reinhard all participated in Arizona.

A priority for Martin this week was 2025 All-Big West First-Teamer and recent UC Irvine transfer Andy Nguyen’s acclimation to the Bruins’ system.

“I think he’s going to be an intricate part of our lineup, no doubt about it,” Martin said. “He’s been in these battles, played these same tournaments, so not nearly as much of a learning curve for him.”

This could prove necessary to bolster the squad’s depth, since it is unclear whether 2024 Big Ten All-Freshman Team honoree Kaylan Bigun will return to UCLA. Martin said the would-be sophomore is currently not enrolled in UCLA classes and is leaning toward not returning to school.

The 33rd-year head coach said he would welcome Bigun – a starter for last year’s team – back if he chose to return.

“I’m used to it as a coach,” Martin said. “You bring in players, you lose players, you move forward. So life just goes on no matter what.”

The regional tournament tested the Bruins’ toughness, with long matches – sometimes multiple per day – in the Arizona heat.

But the Bruins now have time to recuperate as they head into the final stretch before the spring season. They will head to Rolling Hills Estates, California, to play at the Dennis Rizza Intercollegiate Classic from Oct. 31 to Nov. 2.

“(I was) optimistic about the season coming (in),” Martin said. “But I think (regionals) even made me feel better, quite honestly.”