TULSA, Okla. – The second-ranked duo of Mackenzie McDonald and Martin Redlicki joined the ranks of history on Monday afternoon when they coasted past No. 8 Arthur Rinderknech and Jackson Withrow of Texas A&M, 6-4, 6-1, in the 2016 NCAA men’s doubles final.

“This has to be, if not the most special, one of the top five most special moments in my tennis career,” said Redlicki of the win. “With overcoming adversity yesterday–being able to fight it out–then coming out here and playing some of our best doubles in the championship match, you just can’t really beat that. I’m just really happy and excited. I’m ecstatic right now.”

This is the first time in 45 years that UCLA has won both the NCAA singles and doubles titles in the same year—a feat that has only happened five times before in school history. It last occurred in 1971, when Jimmy Connors won the singles title and Jeff Borowiak and Haroon Rahim took home the doubles crown.

McDonald, who captured the singles title Monday morning, also made history as the first man since Matias Boeker of Georgia (2001) to win both the NCAA singles and doubles titles in the same year. McDonald is the 38th player since 1883 to win in both doubles and singles.

“I’m really happy with this accomplishment,” said McDonald of winning both titles. “This is unbelievable. I have always wanted to win something for UCLA, and to bring back two trophies for them is really cool to me. I’ve always been a Bruin and this means a lot to me.”

It was a back-and-forth battle in the first set as the pairs traded hold for hold. At 1-1, however, the Bruins broke the Aggies at love to register the only break point of the set. One break point was all it took, as McDonald and Redlicki won the first set, 6-4.

The duos traded holds to start the second set, but once again, the Bruins broke in the third game to take a 2-1 lead. Up 3-1 with TAMU serving, the Aggies double faulted on break point to give the Bruins a 4-1 lead. McDonald and Redlicki then held at love for the opportunity to break Rinderknech and Withrow for the title.

In what would be the final game of the match, TAMU saved three break points to knot it at deuce. McDonald’s backhand return was out of reach for the Aggies, and the Bruins took the set 6-1 to capture the title in straights.

“I know how much we wanted this win,” said McDonald. “We really came out and took care of business. When I got back from the singles final, Marty got me in the right mindset and we did what we needed to do before the match and took care of it on the court.”

“There’s a lot of emotion running right now,” said Redlicki of being a national champion. “On the court you tell yourself all the time ‘one point at a time, just focus on every point and don’t let the moment get to you.’ But it’s challenging especially when you’re in a championship match against a great team like the guys from A&M, just being able to keep your composure down the stretch.

“For him in singles and both of us in doubles, I think it was just an incredible couple of weeks for us here in Tulsa, and I’m really glad we were able to come up with the title,” added Redlicki. “Words can’t describe it.”

The Bruin duo finished the season with an 18-6 overall record and a 10-5 mark against ranked opponents. This is the 11th time that a UCLA doubles team has won the NCAA doubles championship, and the first time since 1996 (Justin Gimelstob and Srdjan Muskatirovic).

Years UCLA Won Singles & Doubles Titles (6)
1950 – Herb Flam; Herb Flam/Gene Garrett
1960 – Larry Nagler; Larry Nagler/Allen Fox
1965 – Arthur Ashe; Arthur Ashe/Ian Crookenden
1966 – Charles Pasarell; Charles Pasarell/Ian Crookenden
1971 – Jimmy Connors; Jeff Borowiak/Haroon Rahim
2016 – Mackenzie McDonald; Mackenzie McDonald/Martin Redlicki

McDonald/Redlicki’s Road to the Title
Round of 32 – def. No. 16 Kwiatkowski/Styslinger (UVA), 6-2, 7-6(3)
Round of 16 – def. No. 20 Schipanski/ Valero (Tenn), 6-3, 6-3
Quarterfinals – def. No. 10 Cash/Kadhe (Oklahoma State), 7-6(4), 7-5
Semifinals – def. No. 15 Lawson/Monaghan (Notre Dame), 7-5, 6-7(5), 1-0(8)
Finals – def. No. 8 Rinderknech/Withrow (TAMU), 6-4, 6-1