The UCLA men’s tennis team came into Wednesday’s
home match against UC Irvine the No. 1 team in the country. Based
on their performance, they didn’t want to leave any questions
about that.
No Bruin dropped a set, and the team won in convincing fashion,
7-0.
“We didn’t want to leave any doubt about who owns
the place,” junior Tobias Clemens said.
Clemens, ranked No. 12 in the country, didn’t waste any
time, as he beat Irvine’s No. 1 player, Jonathan Endrikat, in
straight sets, 6-1, 6-1.
“I felt good today,” he said.
In fact, there were quite a few things for the Bruins to feel
good about.
Sophomore Chris Lam, new to the team after transferring from
Santa Clara, looked solid in his UCLA debut, defeating Sean
O’Connor 6-2, 6-2.
“I was nervous,” Lam said, “It’s always
hard coming out for the first one, but once I got going, it felt
good.”
Senior captain Erfan Djahangiri was excited just to be back in
the team environment.
“It was good to be back on the court,” he said.
He played well, too, downing Dontia Haynes 6-3, 6-2.
Perhaps the scariest part of this year’s Bruin team, as
far as its opponents are concerned, is its incredible focus on the
team aspect of play.
Players are quick to compliment their teammates, and everyone is
intent upon achieving the ultimate goal, a national title.
“Our goal is the national championship, so expectations
are high,” said senior Marcin Matkowski, a straight-set
winner over Zoran Korac Jr., 6-3, 6-3.
Even the highly regarded Clemens isn’t concerned about his
ranking, which is quite a statement in an individual sport like
tennis.
“I really don’t care about my individual ranking.
Team comes first,” he said. “I can finish 50th in the
country, but if we win the NCAA championships, nobody
cares.”
Head coach Billy Martin couldn’t possibly find anything
wrong with his team.
“I was quite happy with our performance,” Martin
said, “I was especially encouraged by our doubles
play.”
The doubles teams of Matkowski and Rodrigo Grilli, Clemens and
Lassi Ketola, and Djahangiri and Alberto Francis all won their sets
to secure UCLA the doubles point. Matkowski and Grilli defeated the
nation’s No. 11 doubles team of Endrikat and Brian Morton,
8-3. Clemens and Ketola defeated Greg Bjorkman and Haynes, 8-2.
Francis and Djahangiri defeated O’Connor and Korac, 8-4.
“I just liked the enthusiasm we had out here. The guys are
all excited about being here,” Martin said.
The team’s enthusiasm showed. When nearly everyone was
done playing and the Bruins held a 6-0 lead, the entire squad
gathered to watch Francis finish out his match.
“We wouldn’t have it any other way,” said
Martin.
The team’s enthusiasm rubbed off on Francis, as he
mustered a 7-6, 7-6 victory over Bjorkman.
“It was good to see Alberto on the court,”
Djahangiri said.
With all the Bruins healthy, they should be tough to beat.
“We just want to keep getting better,” Martin said,
“We want to try to peak at the right time.”
If the team’s focus doesn’t waver, that time should
be late May at the NCAA Championships.