Uninspired, unenergetic play usually leads to losses ““
even when you’re the No. 1 team in the country.
The No. 1 UCLA men’s tennis team didn’t perform to
the best of its ability Saturday, and it showed, as No. 6 Florida
sent the Bruins to its first loss of the season, 4-1, in the
semifinals of the USTA/ITA National Team Indoor Championships.
“We came out flat as a pancake,” head coach Billy
Martin said. “We had no energy. It was just
horrible.”
For the first time all season, UCLA (11-1) dropped the doubles
point. Florida (9-1) won matches at the No. 2 and No. 3
doubles courts, as Olivier Levant and Eleazar Magallan beat Tobias
Clemens and Lassi Ketola 8-2, at No. 2, and Matt Behrmann and Troy
Hahn beat Erfan Djahangiri and Alberto Francis 8-3, at No. 3.Â
Play on court No. 1 was suspended.
The Bruins didn’t fare much better in singles, as Francis
lost to Magallan, 6-3, 6-3 at No. 6, Ketola lost to Behrmann, 6-4,
7-5 at No. 5, and Marcin Matkowski lost to Janne Holmia, 2-6, 6-2,
6-3 at No. 2.
The lackadaisical play was uncharacteristic of the Bruins, who
usually give their opponents little margin for error.
“We gave them every reason to think they could beat
us,” Martin said. “Had we played with energy, I
think we would’ve won.”
The only Bruin to win Saturday was Rodrigo Grilli, as he emerged
victorious 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 over Hahn. This match capped a difficult
tournament for Grilli.
“Every match was an absolute nightmare for him,”
Martin said.
The indoor venue was tough for many of the UCLA players who are
accustomed to the outdoor, slower style of play. Chris Lam
didn’t play at all in the tournament, while Djahangiri and
Grilli struggled mightily.
With the loss, it is nearly certain that the Bruins will not
remain No. 1 when the latest polls are released by the ITA.
But for them, that’s okay.
“In some ways, I think it might be better,” Martin
said. “The pressure (to stay undefeated) is
off.”
And though they wanted to win, the Bruins want to be clicking
when it matters most, during the NCAA tournament.
“Our end goal is to play really well in May,” Martin
said.
UCLA had beaten No. 8 Duke, 4-1, on Friday to reach the
semifinals by securing the doubles point and getting victories from
Ketola, Matkowski and Francis.
This was the first time since 1989 that the tournament winner
was not either UCLA or Stanford. No. 2 Illinois (10-0) beat
Florida, 4-2, in the final to secure the championship.
Some of the Bruins will be returning to action Feb. 27 at the
Pacific Coast Doubles Tournament in La Jolla.