March 6, 2013

LOS ANGELES - After a week off from dual-match play, the second-ranked UCLA men's tennis team (11-1) returns to head-to-head competition on Wednesday, as the Bruins host Hawai'i (3-5) at the Los Angeles Tennis Center beginning at 2:00 p.m. There is no charge to attend Wednesday's match. Live stats can be accessed by going here: Live - UCLA vs. UH

Following its showdown with Hawai'i, the Bruins head to Waco, Texas to take on Baylor on Sunday at 10:00 a.m. (PST). The UCLA-Baylor series is one of the best rivalries on all of college tennis, with eight of the last nine meetings ending in a 4-3 result. The one lopsided result between the two teams actually happened at the LATC last season when UCLA beat Baylor, 6-1. UCLA last traveled to Waco in 2011, with then freshman Clay Thompson pulling off a three-set win at court No. 4 to give UCLA the 4-3 victory. Live stats for the UCLA-Baylor match on Sunday can be found by going here: Live - UCLA vs. Baylor

UCLA jumped ahead of USC in the latest ITA Team Rankings released on Tuesday and are now ranked No. 2 nationally. The Bruins entered the week at No. 3 behind top-ranked Virginia and No. 2 USC. However, the Bruins and Trojans switched places on Tuesday. Duke and Kentucky round out the top 5 at Nos. 4 and 5, respectively. Individual rankings will not be released again until next week.

ITA Rankings
Team (March 5) | Singles (Feb. 26) | Doubles (Feb. 26)

UCLA's Dennis Novikov had the opportunity to compete in the qualifying draw for the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif. on Tuesday. Despite falling in three sets, Novikov more than held his own against 89th-ranked Guillaume Rufin of France. The two players met in the first round, with Rufin taking a 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 victory over the Bruin sophomore. The BNP Paribas Open is a two-week combined ATP World Tour Masters 1000 and WTA Premier event featuring the top men and women professional players competing in a 96 singles draw and 32 doubles draw.

Novikov also received word on Tuesday that he is this week's Pac-12 Player of the Week after he and teammate Marcos Giron went on to win the title at the 124th Pacific Coast Doubles Championships in La Jolla, Calif. last week. The two players outlasted USC's Max De Vroome and Eric Johnson, 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4 in the championship match.