M. tennis heading for La Jolla
By Sarah Harrison
People usually look forward to the weekend because it gives them
a chance to relax, regroup and prepare for next week’s challenges.
The fourth-ranked UCLA men’s tennis team is no exception, as they
anticipate traveling to the beautiful La Jolla Beach and Tennis
Club for a doubles tournament this weekend.
"It is kind of a nice, fun, relaxing weekend, but with some good
tennis," UCLA head coach Billy Martin said. "There are a lot of
good teams there and we really get to focus on doubles."
After last week’s intensity at the USTA/ITA indoor
championships, where they finished third behind No. 1 Stanford and
No. 2 Georgia, the Bruins are looking forward to this less
stressful tournament. The La Jolla Invitational falls under the
Pacific Coast Doubles and is not a collegiate tournament. However,
it is played out like a regular tournament, with a draw of 64
teams. The purpose is to provide schools the opportunity to
concentrate and improve upon their doubles, which can often be the
boost of confidence that is needed against a tough team.
UCLA will be entering the doubles teams of Robert Janecek-Eric
Lin, Eric Taino-Justin Gimelstob and Heath Montgomery-Matt Breen in
the tournament. Loren Peters, who stepped up last week and won his
doubles match against Stanford with Gimelstob, is also going to
compete but, because Rae Cho is suffering from an injury, his
partner will be former Arizona player Ted Williams.
"Of course I would like to play with a team member," Peters
said. "But it is not like you are playing in real team competition,
so I don’t think that it really matters that much. I still would
like to play, so I want someone to play with, even if it is someone
that I don’t even know."
In order to make sure that the schools are not playing against
themselves, the tournament spreads the teams out and puts team
members in different brackets. No points are kept, but winning
teams do advance.
Taino, who was sick last week and sat out against Stanford at
the USTA/ITA tournament, says he is feeling better and hopes to be
ready to play. The tandem of Taino and Gimelstob, 6-2, has been
practically unbeatable, with only Pepperdine’s Chris Hill-Michael
Jessup able to upset them (twice).
"I am expecting to play against some really hard teams," said
Taino. "(No. 1) Stanford and (No. 5) Pepperdine are going to be out
there, so if they are making the effort, then a lot of other teams
will follow, and it will make it really difficult."
No. 7 USC and No. 19 Berkeley can also be added to the list of
formidable opponents. This should be a good opportunity for the
Bruins to test themselves and really attend to their doubles
skills.
"We don’t have to worry about the singles. We are not going to
be tired or anything; we just practice playing doubles," said
Janecek. "I think we just need to practice and get a little sharper
in doubles  practice the things in doubles, poaching and sort
of getting to know each other a little better too."