Rudy Quan had caused the earthquake.
And the landslide was headed straight for him.
Wielding open water bottles and shouting “Let’s go, Rudy,” the Bruins tackled the sophomore in celebration.
UCLA men’s tennis (6-3) defeated No. 9 San Diego (7-3) 4-3 Thursday at the Skip and Cindy Hogan Tennis Center in San Diego. It marked the squad’s highest-ranking victory since its defeat of then-No. 1 seed Ohio State in the 2025 Big Ten title match.
“(It) gives us a belief that we can compete,” said coach Billy Martin. “The thing I was most happy (about), whether we lost that match today at the end (or not), was our doubles play. We came out so fired up, and we talked about it all week, and I was so proud of the guys with that.”
Martin added that he was especially impressed with junior Spencer Johnson and senior Aadarsh Tripathi, who defeated No. 15 Adrien Berrut and Lambert Ruland 6-2 to clinch the doubles point.
UCLA’s doubles festivities began on court two, where redshirt junior Emon van Loben Sels and senior Gianluca Ballotta defeated Manvydas Balciunas and Stian Klaassen 6-2.
The pair has become the Bruins’ most successful doubles team since Martin modified lineups Jan. 31, and moved to 5-0 with their victory Thursday.
“We went out there with a lot more energy and focus than usual,” van Loben Sels said. “We knew this was a big match and started off really strong. GL (Ballotta) and I have been playing great together and I enjoy playing with him.”
Securing the doubles point would prove crucial for the Bruins, as the match ultimately came down to the final singles court.
Quan clinched UCLA’s victory, defeating Vincent Marysko 3-6, 7-6(2), 7-5. It marked the second match-clincher of the season for the 2025 Big Ten Freshman of the Year.
“Those courts are really slow,” Quan said. “You’re not going to hit a winner first shot. It’s really important to stay patient and really look for the correct opportunity. So I just tried to stay as patient as I could and elongate the point.”
Martin said Marysko’s diet of aces and service winners took him by surprise. After defeating Quan in the first set, Marysko came back from a 2-5 deficit to tie in the second set, inducing a tiebreaker game.
But Quan eked out small advantages and used them to clinch sets. And when the dust settled, the UCLA sophomore found himself getting tackled by his teammates.
“I had a feeling they were going to rush me,” Quan said. “I was walking up, and I saw everyone running for me. I was like, ‘Oh, god,’ and braced myself and they knocked me down. It was great. Those are the moments you dream (of) as a kid.”
Van Loben Sels set the stage for Quan’s clinching win, defeating Balciunas 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 to tie the dual-match 3-3.
Quan added that he looked over to court three and found confidence from seeing van Loben Sels claw back from a first-set hole of his own.
But van Loben Sels said victory was never in doubt.
“I knew that I was a better player than this guy,” van Loben Sels said. “I started playing a little more aggressive and trusting my game, and I went up 4-0 to start the second set. I gained a lot of confidence from that and found a way.”
The Bruins’ first singles victory came on court one, where Johnson won his highest-ranked match of 2026, defeating fellow ITA All-American Oliver Tarvet, who is ranked 32, in straight sets 6-3, 7-6(4).
Although the Bruins’ frontcourt trio sealed the victory, backcourt play has remained inconsistent, prompting Martin to tinker the lineup again Thursday. Martin opted to play Ballotta and freshman Bengt Reinhard in place of junior Andy Nguyen and redshirt freshman Cassius Chinlund.
It marks the latest turn for Nguyen, who has opened the 2026 season 3-4 after posting a 20-4 singles record at UC Irvine in 2025.
“I just felt Bengt deserved a chance to step up and play for us,” Martin said. “Andy’s been struggling a little bit. He might just need a little bit of a break here. Sometimes it’s not always great to keep playing when you’re not feeling your best. So hopefully we can get his confidence going a little bit.”
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