No. 13 Sooners Set for Tilt with No. 3 UCLA

¹³Oklahoma vs. ³UCLA

March 15 | 3 p.m. CT | Los Angeles, Calif. | Los Angeles Tennis Center

NORMAN – The No. 13 Oklahoma men's tennis team hits the road Thursday for a top-25 clash with No. 3 UCLA in Los Angeles at 3 p.m. CT.

Oklahoma

The Sooners come into the contest at 12-1 on the season, riding a six-match winning streak.

In their last weekend of competition, Oklahoma notched back-to-back victories over Wichita State, 4-1, and then-No. 46 Drake, 4-0.

Alex Bakshi continues to lead Oklahoma in singles play from the No. 1 line, owning a 7-1 overall record with a 2-0 mark against ranked opponents. The junior checks in at No. 91 in the latest ITA release.

No. 40 Ferran Calvo is 5-3 on the year in the one, two and three spots. Freshman Jake Van Emburgh is No. 85 nationally, racking up an 8-1 record on courts three and four. Van Emburgh currently holds a seven-match winning streak and is 2-0 against ranked opponents.

Also of note, Jochen Bertsch remains undefeated at 9-0 on the year. The Manheim, Germany, native has won eight of his matches in straight sets.

In doubles action, Calvo and Van Emburgh are 6-1 from the top spot. British duo Max Stewart and James Davis have a 3-0 mark from the No. 2 and 3 lines.

Thursday's contest will be OU's fourth meeting with a ranked opponent in five contests. The Sooners are 3-1 against ranked opponents, with those three wins coming in their last four matches: Texas A&M (5), Kentucky (28) and Drake (46). OU's sole loss this season was to then-No. 16 Illinois.

UCLA

The Bruins come into Thursday's contest at 15-2 overall and 2-0 Pac-12 play. In its last match, UCLA made quick work of Washington, 4-1, in Seattle.

UCLA remains undefeated at home at 9-0, and is 4-2 against ranked opponents this season. The Bruins advanced to the ITA Division I National Men's Team Indoor Championship final, where they were defeated by top-ranked Wake Forest, 4-2.

In singles play, No. 3 Martin Redlicki leads the Bruins from the No. 1 line and has compiled a 6-2 record on the year.

Maxime Cressy leads the Bruins with wins at 9-1 on the year from the No. 3, 4 and 5 slots, and is 3-0 against ranked opponents this season.

No. 58 Keegan Smith has compiled a 9-2 record in the one, two and three spots, while 62-ranked Logan Staggs is 11-3 on courts two, three and four, including a 4-0 mark at No. 4.

Evan Zhu checks in at No. 117 nationally with an 8-4 record from the No. 1, 2 and 3 lines.

In doubles, Cressy and Bryce Perira are 9-3 on the year from the No. 2 and 3 lines. Austin Rapp and Keegan Smith (ITA No. 24) are 7-1 on courts one and two, while Redlicki and Evan Shu are 6-0 in the top spot.

The Last Time They Met …

The last time the Sooners and the Bruins met was in the 2015 NCAA quarterfinal, where No. 11 OU upset No. 5 UCLA in a 4-3 thriller to advance to the semifinal match.

OU owns the all-time series with UCLA, 3-2.

Match Notes

First serve is set for 4 p.m. CT. Live stats will be available for the match.

For updates, follow @OU_MTennis on Twitter.