Last year, Cracked Racquets introduced a series called College Tennis Contenders. This 10 week series will highlight the Oracle/ITA preseason top 10 men’s tennis teams, focusing on one team a week.

This week, we take an extensive look at the #3 ranked UCLA Bruins.

After dominating the Pac-12 last year and making an impressive run to the semifinals of the 2018 NCAA Tournament, Head Coach Billy Martin’s team will once again set out to prove themselves as an elite college tennis squad in 2019.

It will not be an easy road, as the Bruins are going to have an extremely young team. Three of the top-4 singles players from that semifinal team are now gone, as well as three of the top-6 in doubles.

Coach Martin knows his way around the block though, and secured the #11 recruiting class to help mitigate some of those losses.

2017-2018 Season Stats

Overall: 30-3

Conference: 8-0

Home: 16-0

Away: 6-1

Neutral: 8-2

PAC-12 Tournament: Champions

NCAA Tournament: Semifinalists

UCLA’s Squad

Lucas Bellamy, So.

Roscoe Bellamy, Fr.

Maxime Cressy, Sr.

Ben Goldberg, Jr.

Eric Hahn, Fr.

Connor Hance, So.

Blaine Hovenier, Fr.

Govind Nanda, Fr.

Bryce Pereira, So.

Connor Rapp, R-So.

Keegan Smith, So.

Matthew Tsolakyan, Fr.

Max Wild, Fr.

Patrick Zahraj, Fr.

Outlook

The Bruins are in for a challenge this spring. They are going to have to find a way to replace a significant amount of production in their starting lineup.

Martin Redlicki, Austin Rapp, and Logan Staggs have all moved on after graduating and having stellar careers in L.A. Those three seniors were pivotal in leading the Bruins to the NCAA Semifinals last spring.

Evan Zhu also decided to leave UCLA and turn professional after two outstanding seasons for Coach Martin. The Bruins were planning to rely heavily on Zhu with his experience in both singles and doubles, but will now be forced to find that production and leadership elsewhere.

The loss of Redlicki cannot be understated. Marty was the unquestioned leader both on and off the court during his years at UCLA. The big lefty played to a 16-4 dual-match record last season, all in the #1 singles position.

In addition to his singles prowess, Redlicki could be considered an even better doubles player. Last season, he played to an 18-5 dual-match record, all in the #1 doubles position.

Redlicki did it all during his time at UCLA, and it could take some time to replace everything he did for Coach Martin on the court and in the locker room.

Zhu turning pro was a bit of a surprise to the Bruins, and his loss is certainly significant. The Irvine, California native appeared to improve in each of his two seasons at UCLA.

As a sophomore, Zhu played to a 16-7 dual-match record, primarily in the #2 singles position. Like Redlicki, the California right-hander was a phenomenal doubles player. Zhu played to a 20-5 dual-match record last year, all in the #1 doubles position, and teaming with Redlicki for all but two of those matches.

As a doubles tandem, Redlicki and Zhu were the best team in the country, which they proved by winning the NCAA doubles title last May. They just had a knack for getting the job done and coming up clutch when they needed it most.

It’s never easy trying to replace your top two singles players and top doubles pairing, but this is the situation Coach Martin finds himself in. To make matters worse, Redlicki and Zhu aren’t the only contributors who are no longer in L.A.

Martin Redlicki and Evan Zhu | Photo By: uclabruins.com

Logan Staggs was a rock in the middle of the singles lineup for the Bruins, while Austin Rapp brought leadership and another big-time doubles presence to the squad.

Staggs may be small in stature, but Coach Martin could always count on the speedy lefty giving everything he had on the court. His feisty attitude and grit will certainly be missed.

Rapp was a leader that underclassman could look to for guidance. He was a true team-player that did whatever was asked of him. The big right-hander continually came up clutch on the doubles court when his team needed him to provide a spark.

While all of those departures are obviously major blows to the Bruins, not all is lost in L.A. Several key members of last season’s semifinal team are set to return in 2019, including Keegan Smith and Maxime Cressy. The two mammoths, each standing 6’7, are physically imposing on the court and will look to take on increased leadership roles for Coach Martin.

Keegan Smith | Photo By: dailybruin.com

Smith had one of the more successful freshman seasons I can remember. He led the Bruins in wins, tallying a 40-7 overall singles record, including 25-2 in dual-matches. With a massive serve and big, powerful groundstrokes, the San Diego, California native is a matchup nightmare. Playing primarily in the #3 position a year ago, Smith will now most likely assume the role of #1 singles player for Coach Martin.

Cressy has improved his game dramatically from his first year on campus until now. Last season, the Frenchman finished second on the squad in wins, playing to a 33-7 overall singles record, including 21-3 in dual-matches.

Cressy plays more of an “old-school” type game; attacking the net every chance he gets to put pressure on opponents. The big right-hander played primarily in the #5 position a year ago, but will surely move up towards the top of the lineup in 2019.

Maxime Cressy | Photo By: uclabruins.com

The other two major contributors returning this season for the Bruins are sophomores Connor Hance and Bryce Pereira. Each enjoyed highly impressive freshman seasons in their respective roles for Coach Martin. Hance excelled in the lower part of the singles lineup, playing to a 15-5 dual-match record, primarily in the #6 singles position. Pereira was a stalwart on the doubles court, playing to a 21-6 dual-match record, primarily in the #3 doubles position. UCLA will be counting on these two to step up and at least match their production from last season.

In order to compete with the best teams in the country year after year, coaches must always be bringing in top talent to reload their rosters. Coach Martin was able to secure the #11 recruiting class and bring in seven new Bruins for 2018-19. Govind Nanda, Eric Hahn, Matthew Tsolakyan, Max Wild, Blaine Hovenier, Roscoe Bellamy, and Patrick Zahraj represent one of the largest recruiting classes in the nation. This group has the opportunity to be the core of the team for years to come.

Zahraj hails from Frankfurt, Germany, but each of the other six freshmen come from the recruiting hotbed of California. Coach Martin always dips into the vast talent pool of in-state players to build his roster. Of the six Californians, blue-chip Nanda is the most notable. He possesses extensive ITF experience and should contribute immediately in both singles and doubles.

Govind Nanda | Photo By: twitter.com

Hahn, Tsolakyan, and Wild join the Bruins as 5-star recruits, each experiencing a great amount of success in the juniors. These three will bring the energy and have the ability to contribute in singles and doubles. With the proper coaching and training, Hahn, Tsolakyan, and Wild have the chance to become excellent college players.

Rounding out the freshman class is Blaine Hovenier and Roscoe Bellamy, brother of sophomore Bruin Lucas Bellamy. With the departures of Redlicki, Rapp, Zhu, and Staggs, Coach Martin will need to get his young team up to speed quickly because the Pac-12 is definitely one of the strongest conferences in the country.

It will be interesting to see how the Bruin coaches construct the lineup this spring. Smith and Cressy will undoubtedly move up the lineup in singles and assume increased roles. Zahraj and Nanda would appear to be the most likely freshmen to see the court early on, with Hance and Tsolakyan rounding out the top-6. There is some depth, so Coach Martin will be able to get an idea of who can produce in the pressure situations and set his lineup accordingly.

Cracked Take

Winning the Pac-12 in back-to-back years is a difficult task. I feel as though teams like USC, California, and Arizona State will be much improved compared to a season ago. You can never count the Bruins out, but I would not have them as my Pac-12 favorite heading into dual-match play.

The losses of Redlicki and Zhu are going to sting, no matter how much talent is still on the roster. As good as the freshmen could possibly turn out to be, you can only expect so much in their first years of college tennis. There will be a learning curve for those guys coming from the juniors. Having a super young team with only one senior and one junior makes me want to hold the expectations for UCLA this season.

Bryce Pereira | Photo By: uclabruins.com

Even though the Bruins’ run in the 2018 NCAA Team Championships ended with a tough 4-1 loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes in the semifinals, Coach Martin’s squad was extremely impressive throughout the rest of the tournament.

The men from L.A. posted 4-0 victories over Idaho and San Diego, before defeating Michigan 4-2 in the round of 16 and USC 4-3 in the quarterfinals.

Overall, I expect UCLA to have a pretty good season in 2019. There is enough talent on this roster to compete with pretty much any team in singles and doubles. A reasonable goal would be to finish in the top-3 in the Pac-12. With such a young squad, a top-3 finish in the conference would give them the confidence to aim higher in the years to come when they have more experience.

Connor Hance | Photo By: dailybruin.com

The Bruins’ best shot at a national title was probably last season, and they just narrowly missed out. The good news for UCLA fans is that Coach Martin has a very young and deep team with a lot of potential for the future. It probably won’t be all that long before the Bruins are competing for a national championship again.

UCLA 2019 Schedule

I like the way the Bruins’ schedule sets up for this spring. There are a couple notable non-conference matchups that pop out, including home matches against Indiana, and either Ole Miss or San Diego during the ITA Kickoff Weekend. They will also travel to take on Illinois in mid-February in what should be a great early-season match.

The Pac-12 conference slate is always intriguing, and this year is no different for UCLA. The Bruins will play home-and-home matches against Stanford, California, and USC in addition to their other conference matches.

Those six home-and-home matches against Pac-12 rivals will most likely decide how the season turns out for UCLA. The other notable conference match I will have my eye on is when ASU visits L.A. on April 19th.

Coach Martin clearly set up his team’s schedule with an eye on the post-season. We’ll see how it all turns out for the Bruins in 2019.

Reader Poll

How will the UCLA Bruins do in the 2019 season? This is the 2018 NCAA Championship team.

Pac-12 Champions, but they falter in the NCAA tournament.

Finish top 3 in the Pac-12, make an average run in the NCAA tournament.

This team is overhyped, and will not finish in the top 10. View Results

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How do you think the season will turn out for the UCLA men? Make sure to take the poll, or let us know your thoughts in the comments below.