Sunday, April 27, 1997
TENNIS:
Teams dominate up to semifinal round in singles, doubles
matchesBy Mark Shapiro
Daily Bruin Staff
It was supposed to be little more than a warm-up for the UCLA
men’s tennis team  a chance to keep loose without affecting
the team’s top ranking before its final match of the year and the
NCAA Championships.
That was what it looked like, but this weekend’s Pacific 10
Championships in Ojai, Calif., an individual tournament, became a
representation of the dominance of UCLA and Stanford, the two West
Coast powerhouses.
The predominance of Bruins and Cardinal in the late rounds paid
mute testimony to their ability, as each team had three players in
the quarterfinals, and combined, the two occupied three of four
semifinal spots.
In the doubles competition, each squad had both of its teams
intact in the semifinals.
Sure, the tournament didn’t count towards team rankings, but if
the fierce rivalry that has manifested itself this season is any
indication, both teams wanted a position in the finals and one last
crack at each other before the big show.
On opposite ends of the singles draw were Stanford’s Ryan
Wolters and UCLA’s Eric Taino, two players whose matches
consistently take on unparalleled significance and seem to always
come at the crucial time.
Wolters found himself in the finals as he ousted USC’s George
Bastl, 6-4, 7-5. So, all that Taino needed to do to get yet another
crack at his nemesis was to defeat Stanford freshman Bob Bryan.
Instead, Bryan, Stanford’s Bruin killer this season with a
perfect 3-0 record, came out of the darkness of the semifinals and
ended Taino’s hopes for a matchup against Wolters with a 6-3, 6-4
victory. In three matches against Bruin opponents this season,
Bryan has yet to drop a set.
UCLA’s Kevin Kim , Alex Decret, and Taino all had berths in the
quarterfinal round. Taino advanced to the semis with a three-set
victory over Stanford’s Mike Bryan, but Decret fell to Wolters, and
Kim fell to Bastl .
The only early-round casualty for the Bruins was junior Matt
Breen, who fell in the second round to Patrick Gottesiben of USC.
The early exit will do some damage to Breen’s hopes for an at-large
berth into the NCAA singles championships.
In the doubles competition, the team of Taino and Decret
advanced to the finals with a semifinal victory over the Bryan
brothers, while Kim and Eric Lin (third-ranked in nation), fell to
Wolters and Paul Goldstein.
* * *
The women of UCLA did not fare quite as well as the men.
Freshman Katia Roubanova was the only Bruin to advance deep into
the tourney, and she was eliminated in the quarterfinals.
She was defeated by Karen Goldstein of the University of
Arizona, 7-5, 5-7, 7-5.
Christie DeBeau, Daily Bruin Contributor, assisted with this
article.