Everything went right for UCLA as the Bruins thoroughly
dismantled Arizona State on Saturday, facing a team that earlier in
the season had handed UCLA one of the worst losses in recent
history. Not one Bruin lost a single set to the Sun Devil opponent,
and the team cruised to a 7-0 victory. The Sun Devils’
frustration was especially apparent at No. 2 singles, where Chris
Lam faced off against Arizona State’s Andy Colombo. Down
early in the second set, Colombo was trying to hold onto his serve
with Lam threatening to break. After Lam won a critical point,
Colombo appeared to pound the ball in disgust. The umpire penalized
Colombo with a point awarded to Lam, who later won the next point
to break. Upset at what he perceived to be an unfair penalty,
Colombo then smacked a ball directly out of the Los Angeles Tennis
Center, and, shouting, said, “That’s a point
penalty.” The umpire then awarded Lam an entire game penalty
for the outburst. The whole affair virtually secured Lam an easy
win. “I knew (Colombo) was breaking down. I just told myself
to play solid. He was killing himself,” Lam said. As the
players switched sides after the drama subsided, a fan in the crowd
shouted, saying, “Nice game, Chris,” drawing a chuckle
from Lam.
GRUENDLER STARTS STRONG: In the past three
matches against USC, Duke and Arizona, freshman Philipp Gruendler
lost his first set, finally losing to the Trojans and Blue Devils
while rallying for a win against the Wildcats. On the season,
Gruendler has lost the first set in half of his dual matches yet is
a solid 10-4 overall. Against Arizona State, the freshman took an
early lead and never looked back, taking a straight-set win.
“I always try to win my first set, but sometimes it
doesn’t work,” he said. “I get so angry when I
lose the first few games, especially against weaker opponents.
It’s something I need to work on ““ the mental
aspect.”
DROP SHOTS: The only match lasting any
appreciable length came at No. 3 singles, where junior Kris Kwinta
was in danger of being the only Bruin to drop a set. “¦ The
mostly empty LATC tried to inspire Kwinta, and a “Go,
Bruins” chant began among the roughly 30 fans still present.
“¦ In an anticlimactic ending for such a closely scrutinized
match, Kwinta eventually won his set on a double fault from his
opponent, Clinton Letcher. “¦ His hair dyed blue, teammates
urged on Kwinta, chanting, “Come on, Blue Steel.”