Men’s tennis rusty at Palm Springs Invitational
Three-week break takes toll as fifth seed Janecek stumbles in
quarterfinals
By Chris Isidro
Palm Springs once again proved itself as an escape from the
elements as clear skies gleamed above the courts at Westin Mission
Hills Resort last weekend. For the UCLA men’s tennis team, however,
the sun cast only dark shadows.
The long layoff and a difficult field washed out Bruin hopes for
victory at the National Collegiate Tennis Classic. Head coach Billy
Martin focused more on the matches ahead and was not overly
concerned with early season setbacks.
"It’s just really hard because the guys haven’t played a lot of
tennis over the break so they’re not in great shape," Martin said.
"I didn’t really expect too much out of the guys here, and it was
just good to get their heads back in it early."
The Bruin racketeers staggered out of the gates early as two of
the four UCLA entries fell in the first round. Eric Lin, who had
enjoyed a successful fall, faced a tough draw against Pepperdine’s
Troy Budgen, ranked nationally in the latest polls. Lin succumbed
6-4, 6-4, but reached the quarterfinals in the consolation
bracket.
Loren Peters’ tournament was just about over when the bracket
was posted, as he was pitted against Stanford’s Paul Goldstein, the
No. 7 seed in a top-notch field. While the weekend was filled with
upsets, Peters was no dark horse last Thursday, falling 6-1, 6-2 to
the nation’s 40th ranked player.
The upset bug did bite Robert Janecek, the fifth seed, and it
came in the form of Stanford’s Jim Thomas. After toppling
tournament favorite Chad Clark of Texas in a tough three-setter,
Thomas started strong against Janecek then cruised in the decisive
third, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2.
"I expected Robert to do a little better," Martin said. "But for
a guy like Robert who’s been in Toronto, where the weather doesn’t
allow for much tennis, it’s just really tough on him."
While the rest of his teammates were getting stung, unseeded
Eric Taino drew a little blood of his own. After disposing Texas’s
Trey Phillips in the first round, No. 6 seed Scott Humphries of
Stanford stood in Taino’s path. The sophomore regrouped after
dropping a tight second set tiebreaker to topple Humphries 6-3, 6-7
(5-7), 6-0. Taino, riding the wave, crashed all over No. 4 seed
Ryan Simme of Notre Dame 6-0, 6-1. The swell finally ebbed at the
feet of USC’s Adam Peterson 6-2, 6-1 in the semifinals.
The Palm Springs tourney is one of a series of events upcoming
for the Bruins. The Pac-10 indoors, bringing together some of the
nation’s toughest squads, gets started in Spokane, Wash., this
weekend.
"We’ve got a huge match against (No. 5) Pepperdine coming up and
we’d better be ready and in real good shape by then," Martin
said.