The last time the UCLA men’s tennis team took to the
courts was the first time it lost.Â
That was 11 days ago, in Louisville, Kentucky, against the
University of Florida. The 4-1 loss successfully knocked the No. 3
Bruins (11-1) out of the top spot in the ITA national
rankings.Â
Now they’re ready for a return to normalcy, which, in this
case, is winning. First on the Bruin agenda is the University of
Virginia, as the Cavaliers visit the Los Angeles Tennis Center
today at 1:30 p.m.
“This will be our first match since Florida,” head
coach Billy Martin said, “I think it’s important that
we reestablish ourselves and get right back on the winning
track.”
That shouldn’t be much trouble for the Bruins.
Though they boast an impressive 10-1 record, the No. 52
Cavaliers don’t garner much national attention. They
have played only one top-25 team all season, resulting in a 5-2
loss to No. 13 Minnesota.
Regardless of Virginia’s ability, the focus of this match
will be preparation for Friday’s match-up against cross-town
rival USC.
“We need to get some tennis in before ‘SC,”
Martin said. “This’ll be a good warm-up.”
The Bruins participated in the Pacific Coast Doubles
Championships last weekend in La Jolla, so they haven’t had
much singles practice of late.
“We’re all a little rusty,” Martin explained,
“We haven’t played singles for quite a
while.”
This match will also showcase two talented Southern California
freshmen who won’t be playing for the Bruins.
Doug Stewart and Rylan Rizza were both recruited by Martin, but
opted to attend Virginia.
“Their coach (Brian Borland) did a great job recruiting
those guys. We just didn’t have the scholarships to
offer this year,” Martin said.
Or the playing time.
Today’s veteran Bruin lineup will feature Tobias Clemens
at No. 1, Marcin Matkowski at No. 2, Rodrigo Grilli at No. 3, Erfan
Djahangiri at No. 4, Lassi Ketola at No. 5 and Chris Lam at No.
6.
And if everything goes according to plan, today will be business
as usual.
“I think we’ve had time to recuperate from the trip
in Louisville and get used to the outdoors again. Now
it’s time for business,” Martin said.