NCAA Mens Tennis

No. 25 Men’s Tennis Wins ITA Kickoff Opener Behind Top-Court Trio

Vanderbilt or USC

LOS ANGELES – The No. 25 UCLA men’s tennis team prevailed in its ITA Kickoff Weekend opener Saturday, beating Memphis by a 4-0 score at David X. Marks Tennis Stadium on the campus of USC.

A sweep of the top three courts, including the clinching victory by Giacomo Revelli, keyed the overall win. Alexander Hoogmartens and Patrick Zahraj were also triumphant on the singles courts for the Bruins (3-0). The Tigers (0-2) were unable to pick up a set.

UCLA meets Vanderbilt or the host Trojans in Sunday’s championship match (2 p.m. PT), with a berth into the ITA National Team Indoor Championships on the line. The ITA Indoors event takes place Feb. 17-20 at XS Tennis Village in Chicago.

A pair of 6-3 doubles wins gave the Bruins their first lead. Hoogmartens and Timothy Li struck first on Court 2, besting Conor Gannon and Harry Rock. Jeffrey Fradkin and Aadarsh Tripathi followed suit, doubling up Pablo Alemany and Pau Fanlo on Court 3. Fradkin sealed the victory with an ace.

Zahraj logged his third straight-set win in as many matches, cruising past Oscar Cutting for a 6-1, 6-2 result on Court 3 to set the tone in singles play.

No. 83 Hoogmartens made his way off the courts next, dispatching of No. 39 Alemany by a 6-1, 6-4 score. Each of Hoogmartens’ victories in dual-match play have come against a top-50 opponent. He has won four straight decisions dating back to the Sherwood Collegiate Cup and all have been over top-50 foes.

No. 89 Revelli, who faced a 0-4 second-set deficit versus No. 114 David Stevenson on Court 2, responded to force a tiebreaker. Already winner of the opening frame, Revelli took…

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