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Head coach Billy Martin enters his 17th season at the helm of the UCLA men's tennis team. The 1996 ITA National Coach of the Year, Martin brings a 366-72 (.836) record into his 26th season on the Bruin coaching staff. Martin served as an assistant coach at UCLA for 10 years prior to being elevated to his current status as only the fourth head coach in Bruin tennis history. He follows legends Bill Ackerman (1921-50), J.D. Morgan (1951-66) and Glenn Bassett (1967-93).
Martin, who in 16 seasons has never had a team finish out of the top 5 at the NCAA Championships, led UCLA to the school's 16th NCAA men's tennis title in 2005. The Bruins upset top-seeded Baylor, 4-3 in the title match that season with a thrilling come-from-behind victory in College Station, Texas. It marked UCLA's first national title in men's tennis since 1984, and followed a string of near misses at the NCAAs during Martin's first 12 years as head coach.
Another significant achievement in Martin's career came during the 2006 season, as he coached Ben Kohlloeffel to a straight-set win over Virginia's Somdev Devvarman in the title match at the NCAA Singles Championships. Kohlloeffel became the Bruins' 10th singles champion, and the first since Martin captured the title back in 1975.
Kohlloeffel's victory put his coach in an elite category, as Martin joins Georgia's Manny Diaz as the only other active head coach to earn the career "triple crown" by leading their schools to three different titles at the NCAA Championships (team, singles and doubles). Martin's doubles title came when he coached Justin Gimelstob and Srdjan Muskatirovic to the championship in 1995.
In just his first season as head coach, Martin guided the Bruins to their third consecutive NCAA Semifinal appearance and an overall record of 22-6. He enjoyed an equal amount of success in his second year, as he led the Bruins to a 19-6 record and UCLA's fourth consecutive NCAA Semifinal appearance. The Bruins moved a step closer to winning the national title during Martin's third year when UCLA ended the season as NCAA Runner-Up, posting a 27-1 record and a No. 1 final ranking. After enjoying a tremendous year in 1997 and entering the NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 seed, the Bruins posted another semifinal finish, notching a 25-4 record. In 1998, the Bruins tied for fifth at NCAAs and claimed a final ranking of No. 7 with a 17-8 overall record, as three Bruins claimed All-America honors. Like the 1997 season, the '99 Bruins, who entered the NCAA Tournament ranked No. 1, were NCAA runner-ups and Pac-10 Champions, finishing with a 26-3 record. In 2000, Martin's team finished 24-4 overall and were runner-up to eventual NCAA Champion Stanford in Pac-10 conference play. The Bruins, ranked No. 2 going into the NCAA Tournament, lost a heartbreaking match to Tennessee in the quarterfinal round. In 2001, the Bruins reached the NCAA Quarterfinals, finishing with a 23-3 overall record and a No. 3 final ranking. In 2002, the Pac-10 Champion Bruins advanced to the NCAA Semifinals, finishing with a 23-5 overall record. In 2003, UCLA advanced to the NCAA Semifinals, posting a 24-4 overall record. The 2004 season marked the third time in coach Martin's tenure that the Bruins came within one match of the national title, as UCLA finished with a 23-6 overall record and coach Martin's fifth Pac-10 Championship. A number of close calls finally came to an end in 2005, when Martin led the Bruins to the school's first NCAA title since 1984. UCLA finished the season with a 27-3 overall record and the school's second-straight Pac-10 Championship.
The 2006 season marked the eighth-consecutive 20-win season for Martin, as UCLA finished with a 20-6 overall record, advancing to the quarterfinals at the NCAA Championships. The Bruins also claimed their third-straight Pac-10 title. UCLA equaled its success of the previous year in 2007, posting yet another 20-win season (22-4), another Pac-10 Championship, and another quarterfinal appearance at the season-ending NCAA Championships.
Perhaps one of Martin's best coaching seasons came in 2008 as, despite missing their top four players from the previous season, the Bruins still managed to reach the semifinals at the NCAA Championships, ending the year 23-4 overall. The Bruins made it back-to-back NCAA Semifinal appearances last season, with UCLA falling just short of reaching the final in a 4-3 loss to Ohio State in College Station, Texas. The Bruins ended the year 21-5 overall, claiming the school's fifth Pac-10 title in six years.
Inducted into the ITA Tennis Hall of Fame in 1996, Martin's playing career is full of highlights. To this very day he is still regarded as one of the best junior players in the history of the sport. He captured the 1973 and '74 singles titles at Junior Wimbledon, the Junior U.S. Open and Junior Orange Bowl tournaments. Inside Tennis Magazine recently ran an article that named him "Junior Player of the Century." Due to his tremendous success as a junior player while growing up in Illinois, Martin was inducted into the USTA Midwest Section Hall of Fame this past December.
As a Bruin freshman, he guided the 1975 team to one of its best seasons, posting a perfect 19-0 dual-match record en route to an NCAA team championship.
After capturing the 1975 NCAA singles championship, Martin turned professional and enjoyed a fine career. He reached the Wimbledon singles quarterfinals in 1977 and was selected Rookie of the Year in his first professional season.
Martin defeated top pros such as Ken Rosewall (twice), Stan Smith, John Newcombe, Roscoe Tanner and Harold Soloman. In 1975 he won the Arkansas International singles title. He also won doubles championships in 1977, '79 and '81 in Laguna Niguel, CA, Brussels, Belgium and Bristol, England, respectively.
Martin attended UCLA for three years, working on his undergraduate studies before completing his bachelor's degree in business management from the University of Redlands in 1989. He earned his MBA from USC in 1991.
During the summer, Martin runs the Bassett-Martin Tennis Camp, one of the country's most successful camps for youngsters. Martin also directs the UCLA Summer Tennis Camps held on the UCLA campus. Martin and his wife, Justine, have two children, William and Travis.
