Anna 
The UCLA men’s tennis team suffered a heartbreaking 4-3 defeat to No. 25 USC on Sunday at the Los Angeles Tennis Center, marking their fourth consecutive loss. With the crosstown rivalry tied at 3-3, all eyes were on UCLA’s Gianluca Ballotta, the Bruins’ final hope. However, when his shot fell short, the Trojans erupted in celebration, leaving the Bruins and their fans in stunned silence.
With the loss, UCLA (2-6) extended its losing streak, the longest since May 2023. The match had been evenly poised at 3-2 in favor of the Bruins, with two singles matches left to decide the outcome. However, junior Aadarsh Tripathi was defeated by Matteo Morazzi 6-3, 1-6, 6-4, and Ballotta lost to Karl Lee 7-5, 2-6, 6-2, sealing the victory for USC (6-3).
“We only needed to win one of those last two matches,” said UCLA head coach Billy Martin. “We’ve been playing well, getting close, but just not finishing. It’s frustrating, and I’m perplexed myself.”
UCLA was without sophomore Spencer Johnson, who missed his second consecutive match due to injury. This forced Martin to make changes to the doubles lineup for the third straight match. Freshmen Rudy Quan and Kaylan Bigun delivered a 6-3 win in doubles, but Tripathi and senior Giacomo Revelli lost 6-3, and redshirt sophomore Emon van Loben Sels and senior Alexander Hoogmartens fell 7-5, giving USC a 1-0 advantage heading into singles play.
“Some of us played our best match of the year,” van Loben Sels reflected. “It’s easy to get discouraged with so many close losses, but we know we can turn things around.”
The Bruins saw victories from No. 78 van Loben Sels, Hoogmartens, and No. 49 Quan in singles, pushing UCLA to within one point of breaking their losing streak. However, the Trojans ultimately took control in the final matches.
Hoogmartens remains optimistic despite the result, focusing on the experience gained from these close battles.
“We’ve lost because of experience in some matches,” Hoogmartens said. “But it’s only going to get better. The guys who need more experience will learn from this and start converting those critical points in future matches.”
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