Monday, April 15, 1996, 1996
By Mark Shapiro
Daily Bruin Staff
In a display of dominance the likes of which hasn’t been seen in
over two decades, the No. 1 ranked UCLA men’s tennis team stomped,
smacked, beat, thumped and smoked the ninth-ranked Trojans en route
to a 7-0 whitewashing on Friday afternoon.
"I can’t remember in my 13 years (winning 7-0)," UCLA head coach
Billy Martin said. "I’m extremely proud because we did it in both
singles and doubles. This may be our best match of the year. We
haven’t played a good match in about a month and ‘SC fires you up
so I knew the guys would be up."
In what would be the final time many of the Bruins (21-0) would
play the Trojans, either because they are turning pro or
graduating, the rout was on early as the UCLA doubles teams came
out and put on one of their finest performances of the season,
sweeping USC by scores of 8-2, 8-3, and 8-5.
"We’ve been working the whole week on doubles and it’s
definitely shown in the last two matches," Martin said. "We had to
do it in both."
The marquee matchup of the day featured sophomore Justin
Gimelstob, ranked third in the country, against USC’s Cecil Mamiit,
ranked No. 2. The most attractive element in the match was Mamiit’s
bombastic on-court behavior, which aroused the crowd’s ire and
tested Gimelstob’s focus.
With a serve like Gimelstob’s, however, a few lapses in
concentration can be easily covered up. Mamiit was able to break
Gimelstob but once and he had only a handful of break point
opportunities. Gimelstob’s game completely overpowered Mamiit en
route to a 6-4, 7-6 victory.
"That guy talks a lot and I’ve really worked hard in the last
year to not open my mouth," Gimelstob said. "It’s real satisfying
to beat these guys. I played the big points better than he did and
some things went my way."
Senior Srdjan Muskatirovic made his return to the lineup after
missing the last match and came up with an epic three-set victory
over Adam Peterson in a match that featured some of the best play
of the season. Throughout the match, Muskatirovic put together a
series of shots that elicited oohs and aahs from the crowd,
including a backhand winner up the line after chasing down a
lob.
"I was confident that I would win, I never had a doubt in my
mind even when I lost the second set," Muskatirovic said. "I’m
playing better and better and I knew that if I was mentally right,
that there was no way that he could beat me."
At the third and fourth spots, Eric Taino and Heath Montgomery
bounced back from losses in their previous matches to post a pair
of decisive two-set victories.
"My confidence has been coming back in general and it always
feels good to come out and beat ‘SC," Montgomery said. "The fact
that I beat a good player really made my confidence jump to a new
level. It was just an incredibly satisfying day for everyone."
Matt Breen continued his torrid play at the fifth spot, putting
together a three set victory over Reid Slattery.
"It was pretty satisfying to win but that one shouldn’t have
gone three sets," Breen said. "It’s always nice to win and that’s
my main goal, but that guy should not have gone three sets with
me."
Freshman Vincent Allegre returned to action in the sixth spot
and came up with a three-set victory to complete the sweep.
FRED HE/Daily Bruin
Sophomore Justin Gimelstob responded to Cecil Mamiit’s
"bombastic" behavior with a 6-4, 7-6 victory over the No. 2 USC
player.