Aug. 12, 2012

Kalamazoo, Mich. - One day after claiming the doubles title at the USTA Boys' 18s and 16s National Championships in Kalamazoo, Mich., UCLA men's tennis player Dennis Novikov made it a clean sweep on Sunday, notching a four-set victory in the singles final to cap off a remarkable run at the biggest junior tournament in the United States. With the two victories, Novikov earns wild cards into the main draws of both singles and doubles at the U.S. Open, which kicks off later this month in Flushing, N.Y.

Novikov, who is entering his sophomore year at UCLA, downed Glendale's Alexios Halebian, 7-6(3), 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 in Sunday's singles final. Novikov was seeded third in the 128-player 18s draw while Halebian, who has already turned professional, was the No. 8 seed.

On Saturday, Novikov teamed with Duke's Michael Redlicki to claim the doubles title over Mackenzie McDonald and Trey Stroble, winning 7-6(3), 6-1.

Novikov played No. 3 singles and No. 2 doubles for the Bruins this past season, helping the team reach the semifinals at the NCAA Championships in Athens, Ga.

"To win U.S. National Championships in both singles and doubles is a great accomplishment so needless to say we are extremely proud of Dennis," said UCLA head coach Billy Martin, who was also a singles and doubles winner at Kalamazoo in 1973. "He now joins players like Justin Gimelstob and Kevin Kim, two players who were great Bruins. We have a great group returning this season and with Dennis leading the way, I think we have the chance to contend for a national championship.

For more information about the USTA National Championships, visit USTABoys.com or ZooTennis.com