The winner raised his arms in triumph for a brief moment.
A crowd of nine converged upon him, sweeping him off his feet and tackling him to the ground.
The pack helped the victor stand before waltzing in a circle around him. They bellowed a rhythmic chant that echoed through the warm Berkeley air.
“There’s only one Emon!”
No. 14 UCLA men’s tennis (3-2) suffered a 4-2 loss to No. 3 Stanford (6-0) Saturday at the Arrillaga Tennis Center Taube Pavilion in Stanford, California, before defeating No. 23 California (5-4) 4-3 at Hellman Tennis Complex in Berkeley on Sunday.
The Bruins’ fate against the Golden Bears was decided by a third-set tiebreaker in which No. 20 redshirt junior Emon van Loben Sels defeated Timofey Stepanov 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (4). The final set ebbed and flowed – van Loben Sels held a 5-2 lead before relinquishing four consecutive games to go down 5-6.
“I was a nervous wreck during this match,” said coach Billy Martin. “It was like a roller coaster ride. If hadn’t seen it, I wouldn’t have believed it.”
The Bruins stood on court two, knees tensed in anticipation as they awaited their fate. It was a moment junior Andy Nguyen described as “surreal.”
But van Loben Sels said he had steeled his mind to be ready for the moment.
“I’ve been in the same situation before, and I knew I could get through it again,” the redshirt junior said. “Constantly reminding myself that I can do it and that I’ve worked so hard for this helps me gain self belief, no matter what the score is.”
Van Loben Sels also won both of his doubles matches over the weekend, playing alongside senior Gianluca Ballotta in the northern California back-to-back slate.
It marked the latest shift in the doubles lineup, with Martin splitting up the nation’s No. 19 pair of van Loben Sels and junior Spencer Johnson, pairing van Loben Sels with Ballotta, and Johnson with senior Aadarsh Tripathi.
It was an early yet familiar adjustment, as each pair had played at least ten matches together and clinched the doubles point in UCLA’s Big Ten title victory over Ohio State last season.
Junior Spencer Johnson prepares to hit the ball. (Purvi Singhania/Daily Bruin)
“We all met as a team,” Martin said. “Emon and Spencer, maybe two of our absolute best doubles players. … This way, it splits it a little bit and allows them to play with other players and maybe try to pull them through it. … Odds are we might continue doing that.”
The Bruins were also sparked by the efforts of Nguyen, who claimed the first straight-set victory of his UCLA career defeating Cal’s Lenn Luemkemann 6-4, 6-3.
The UC Irvine transfer went 20-4 in singles play last season, but entered Sunday’s match with a 1-2 singles record at UCLA.
“It’s always tough losing matches,” Nguyen said. “But the best players are always able to come back and believe in themselves after. I told myself that it will work out and to focus on progression and believing in the next match and to let it just happen.”
Nguyen said that his early-season slump could be attributed to the adjustment period that comes with playing for a new school. But the junior added that Sunday’s win may mark a turning point in his season.
Martin echoed that sentiment.
“He’s been just not himself out on the tennis court,” Martin said. “We’re planning on him replacing some great players that we lost. I think he’s felt that pressure and it’s been a burden on him, but today, he really turned it around. He was a lot looser, played a lot better, played more of Andy Nguyen tennis that he’s capable of playing.”
After Sunday’s match, Nguyen reflected on his first road trip with his new squad. Music blared in the background as he spoke, marking the beginning of UCLA’s celebration.
This time last year, he was anchoring a team over 50 miles south of Westwood.
Now, he was celebrating the Bruins’ first third-set tiebreaker of 2026.
“They’ve been so welcoming,” Nguyen said. “We push ourselves to be the best but, also, we keep it fun and we keep it pretty mellow. So I’m just really grateful to be here.”