Bulldogs look to ruin farewell party
By Sarah Harrison
The UCLA men’s tennis team will play its last home match of the
season today against No. 30 Fresno State at 1 p.m. in the Los
Angeles Tennis Center.
"Fresno State is a very tough team," UCLA head coach Billy
Martin said. "They are going to come out and play very well. They
are, by no means, an easy team."
UCLA is coming off of a rough weekend, where they faced
Stanford, the No. 1 team in the nation. The Bruins almost pulled
off an upset, only losing to the Cardinal by one, after barely
losing the deciding match in the third-set tie break. After this
emotionally draining match, the Bruins finished up strong, beating
California 5-2 Saturday. While Fresno State is not a top 20 team,
the Bulldogs are still going to be a formidable opponent for the
Bruins.
"Fresno State is a good team, so we are going to have to show up
and play well," freshman Justin Gimelstob said.
UCLA will not be able to take this team lightly. The Bulldogs
are ranked first in their region, with an 8-8 record. They finished
third in the UC Irvine/Marriott Men’s Tennis Classic, held March 29
to April 1. Nevertheless, their road record is 2-5.
They are led by freshman Fredrik Bergh, from Sweden, and senior
Ivan Keskinov. They also have the twin tandem Ryan and Bryan
Juinio, who will play singles in the No. 3 and No. 4 spots,
respectively. The brothers are also ranked No. 31 in doubles, so
they will be matching up with UCLA’s Robert Janecek and Eric Lin,
who are ranked No. 11 in the nation.
"I’m going to have to get the guys ready to go," Martin
said.
The Bruins themselves bring a lot of talent to the court. UCLA
is ranked No. 4 in the nation with an impressive 14-3 overall
record. 16th-ranked Janecek did not have a very successful weekend,
losing to Stanford’s Jeff Salzenstein in three sets and Berkeley’s
Michael Hill in two. The senior will be looking to play well
against Bergh in the last home match of his career at UCLA.
The Bruins’ 34th-ranked Eric Taino beat Stanford’s Scott
Humphries and California’s Casey Louie this weekend, so he will be
hoping to continue the trend in either the No. 2 or No. 3 spot.
This is the last time the Bruins will play a dual match on the
impressive courts of the LATC this season, so they are looking for
the win.
"It is our last home match, so we are not going to lose it,"
Martin said.