Tuesday, February 4, 1997
M.TENNIS:
National title hopes hang in balance as teams battle todayBy
Mark Shapiro
Daily Bruin Staff
The season begins in earnest today.
When the second-ranked UCLA men’s tennis team takes on
sixth-ranked Pepperdine this afternoon in Malibu, the aftershocks
are likely to set the national pecking order for the rest of the
season.
The Waves (6-1) present the most formidable opponent thus far
for the Bruins (4-1), and as the teams size each other up for a
title run, the measuring stick will be out on both teams’
desire.
"If (the Bruins) are any kind of competitors, if they have any
aspirations to winning the NCAA championship, they better be
excited for a match like this," UCLA head coach Billy Martin said.
"This is a team that we have to beat if we want to consider
ourselves a top team. I don’t care about a strong showing, I want a
win."
Similar rhetoric came out of Malibu on the eve of today’s
showdown.
"If you beat UCLA, you see where you fit," Pepperdine head coach
Chuck Willenborg said. "If we beat them, we’re contenders for a
national championship. It’s not hard to get up for this match. It’s
something we’ve been waiting for."
At the head of Pepperdine’s singles lineup, which will be
virtually whole after an injury-wracked early season, is
19th-ranked Simon Aspelin. He will be followed by Troy Budgen and
Brad Sceney, providing three of the few top singles players who can
match up with the Bruins.
The doubles competition will be equally challenging, as the team
of Budgen and Sceney is ranked second in the nation. UCLA’s top
team of Eric Lin and Kevin Kim come in on shaky ground, having lost
two straight matches. In head-to-head competition, however, Lin and
Kim have the advantage, having defeated Pepperdine’s doubles team
in the fall.
GENEVIEVE LIANG/Daily Bruin
Senior Eric Taino and the Bruins take on Pepperdine today.
"This is a team we have to beat … to consider ourselves a top
team."
Billy Martin
UCLA Head Coach