Thursday, 5/22/97 Bruins switch to individual play in NCAA
championships M. TENNIS: Mixed results let Taino, Kim advance while
Decret, Breen stall
By Mark Shapiro Daily Bruin Staff After four months of playing
team tennis, the cream of the UCLA men’s tennis team shifted gears
and opened play in the NCAA Individual Championships. The result of
such a shift brought a mixed bag, as senior Eric Taino and freshman
Kevin Kim advanced to the second round, while juniors Alex Decret
and Matt Breen had their tournament hopes snuffed out in the first
round. Taino, who is the third seed in the tournament, opened the
singles competition against John James of South Alabama. After
struggling in the first set, Taino was able to advance in a 3-6,
6-3, 6-3 victory. "I just had to get adjusted," Taino said. "I was
waiting for him to give me points. In the second and third sets, I
started being really aggressive with my shots, found a rhythm, and
that is what works." In today’s second round, Taino will face
Fresno State’s Fredrick Giers, a player he defeated twice during
the regular season. On top of the confidence that comes from two
previous conquests in his back pocket, Taino also has been
toughened over the past five days, playing and winning all of his
singles matches that have been completed in the NCAA tournament. "I
feel really confident because I’ve had really good matches so far,"
Taino said. "I might even have an edge because I’ve been through a
lot in previous days." Kim, who will face Anthony DeLuise of Middle
Tennessee St. in the second round, also continued his torrid play
in the tournament, dumping Alberto Brause of Duke 6-4, 6-0 after
shedding some early nerves. Since the NCAAs started last Saturday,
Kim has yet to lose a singles match. "I was just to nervous to go
for my shots (in the first set)," Kim said. "I just started feeling
the ball a little better and got my confidence up." The first round
was not nearly as kind to Decret or Breen, as Decret lost to
Matthieu Ballay of Mississippi St., 7-6, 6-3, and Breen fell to
Ludde Sundin of Kentucky. As if facing Sundin, who had beaten Breen
earlier in the year, was not tough enough, Breen had to play his
match on the same court where he had faltered in UCLA’s semifinal
loss to Georgia. "(The loss to Georgia) was something that popped
into my head from time to time during the match," Breen said. "It’s
not the best thing to have in your head when you’re playing." With
this season over and one more year of eligibility remaining, it is
with mixed emotions of relief and anticipation that Breen waits for
his final campaign. "I’m a little relieved the season’s over; it’s
a long season," Breen said. "I just hope next year we can rebound,
beat (Stanford), beat these southern teams, beat everybody, and win
this damned thing for once." * * * UCLA will have two doubles teams
competing in today’s first-round action, with both contests serving
as rematches of the team semifinal against Georgia. The duo of Kim
and Eric Lin, which is seeded 9-16th, will face John Roddick and
Kevin Sessions. Decret and Taino will square off against Steven
Baldas and Rafael Jordan. UCLA lost the doubles point to Georgia
when the two teams met in the semifinals. AARON TOUT Kevin Kim
bounced back quickly from UCLA’s loss in the team tournament by
winning his firstmatch in the individual tournament Tuesday.