After a 12-day break, Indiana men’s tennis resumed its regular season schedule across the country in Los Angeles against UCLA. The match marked the Hoosiers’ first Big Ten matchup of the season and the first time Indiana and UCLA faced off since 2019.
Heading into the match, Indiana had lost two consecutive games against Memphis and Boise State and was looking to get back on track on the road. However, they would fall 7-0 to UCLA.
The Cream and Crimson hoped to start off strong in doubles play to kick off the match. However, that idea was shortly spoiled as UCLA cruised past Indiana.
UCLA took the win in doubles play as it won on courts No. 2 and No. 3. On No. 3, Indiana’s freshmen duo of Braeden Gelletich and Karan Raghavendra fell short 6-3 to UCLA freshmen Rudy Quan and Kaylan Bigun.
UCLA wrapped up the doubles points in its favor by winning 6-3 as well on No. 2, led by redshirt sophomore Emon van Loben Sels and junior Aadarsh Tripathi over Indiana’s pair of freshmen Matteo Antonescu and junior Sam Scherer.
Court No. 1 remained unfinished between Indiana’s pair of junior Jip van Assendelft and sophomore Ben Pomeranets, who played against UCLA’s seniors Alexander Hoogmartens and Giacomo Revelli.
Although the Hoosiers put upa fight, the Bruins kicked off the match with a 1-0 lead. It was the first time all year Indiana lost in doubles play in a match.
The Bruins used their momentum from doubles play to kickstart their excellence in singles play throughout the afternoon.
UCLA’s Bigun defeated Indiana’s van Assendelft on court No. 2 in singles play by a final score of 6-3, 6-3 in both sets. With the loss on No. 2, Indiana found itself down 2-0 to UCLA.
On court No. 1, UCLA’s Quan took care of business against IU junior Deacon Thomas. Thomas fell 6-2, 6-4 in two sets. With the loss on No. 1, Indiana was down 3-0 and facing match point.
In desperate need of momentum, nothing came for the Hoosiers. Instead, UCLA continued its dominance. UCLA's van Loben Sels extended the Bruins’ commanding lead by defeating Pomeranets 6-3, 6-2.
With UCLA only a point away from victory, singles play continued to spiral downward for the visiting Hoosiers. Indiana fell on court No. 6, 6-2, 6-2. With UCLA’s win on No. 6, it wrapped up the victory as it led 4-0 over Indiana.
However, the other games on courts No. 5 and No. 4 continued despite UCLA securing the victory. With hopes of avoiding a potential sweep, Indiana continued to crumble.
On No. 5, UCLA’s Tripathi defeated Gelletich 6-3, 6-3. To top it off, on No. 4, UCLA’s Hoogmartens beat out Scherer in a tightly contested match 7-6 (7-3), 3-6, 10-7.
Hoogmartens’ victory over Scherer was the exclamation point for UCLA.
With the defeat behind it, Indiana kicked off Big Ten play in a detrimental way. The Hoosiers now sit with a record of 9-3 and 0-1 in the Big Ten for the year.
Indiana’s next matchup will come on Sunday afternoon, as it will stay in Los Angeles to face off against USC, hoping to snap its three-game losing streak.
Follow reporter Elakai Anela (elakai_anela) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s tennis season.
