Thursday, March 6, 1997
M. TENNIS:
Fresno State falls 6-1 to No. 1 UCLA; Taino defeats GiersBy Sam
Toussi
Daily Bruin Contributor
An extremely young Fresno Sate team came to LATC to take on the
No. 1 Bruins. Last year the Bulldogs lost their No. 1, 3, 4, 5 and
6 positions players. Eight freshman have found themselves on the
team this year and yet they are still ranked No. 19. Still, the
Bruins made quick work of the Bulldogs. UCLA took the meet, 6-1,
winning the doubles’ portion and the singles’ portion 5-1.
"They’re inexperienced but (they’ve) got a lot of talent. I’m
sure they’ll be good in a couple of years," UCLA head coach Billy
Martin said. In the clash of the titans, senior Eric Taino
(nationally ranked No. 10) defeated Fredrik Giers (No. 25) in two
sets. The first set promised an all-out slugfest as it went to a
tiebreaker. Taino came out on top 7-6.
In the second set, Taino took control and shot Giers down 6-1.
Giers showed his frustration by cursing at himself in his native
language, Swedish. Taino began the day in good fashion, combining
forces with Jason Thompson to defeat Giers and Andy Scorteanu in
their doubles match, 8-5. Taino is, by all accounts, on fire. He is
undefeated in singles at 14-0 and 11-2 in doubles competition.
Freshman Kevin Kim got off to a rocky start against Scorteanu,
taking the first set 7-5. But he calmed down and beat Scorteanu in
the second, 6-2.
Sophomore Frenchman Vincent Allegre breezed past Fresno State’s
Eni Ghidirnic in straight sets, 6-2, 6-1.
In the international match, Australian junior Matt Breen
defeated Fresno’s Olivier Le Jeune, 6-1, 6-4.
Coach Billy Martin was extremely pleased with the win because
UCLA was high off winning the USTA/ITA Rolex National Team Indoors
at Louisville, Ky., and especially because the team had not played
a singles match since Feb. 23.
"I was a little concerned about the layoff and I feared a
letdown," Martin said. "But these guys did a great job."
The Bruins will travel to Arizona this weekend to take on
conference foes Arizona State and Arizona. The team is optimistic
about the meets.
"We beat both of them pretty soundly at the LATC so I think we
can come out with two wins," predicted Martin.
UCLA Sports Info
Eric Taino
"I’m sure (Fresno State will) be good in a couple of years."
Billy Martin
Tennis Head Coach