The UCLA men’s tennis team studied hard for this test.
And the Bruins aced it.
Told for several weeks by coach Billy Martin that BYU could
provide No. 2 UCLA some stiff competition if his team didn’t
come out to play, the Bruins left no doubts in their dominating 7-0
victory over the Cougars on Wednesday.
“Coach really prepared us for this match,” said
sophomore Benjamin Kohlloeffel, who registered a solid 6-3, 6-0
victory at No. 2 singles. “We all came out, and we really
tried hard in the beginning. That’s the kind of match we
need, where we’re 100 percent mentally on the
court.”
Perhaps the most positive aspect of the match for the Bruins
(4-0) was their play in doubles.
Winless on Court No. 1 in doubles in the team’s first
three matches, Kohlloeffel and doubles teammate Luben Pampoulov
posted an 8-3 victory at that position. Kris Kwinta and Alberto
Francis won their second consecutive doubles match at No. 2 after
losing their first two matches of the season.
“I thought our doubles looked a lot better,” Martin
said. “I thought our intensity looked better. I told the guys
to really be prepared, and they were. That’s the part I felt
really good about.”
Probably the best team the Bruins have faced thus far, BYU was
never really in the match. After racing out to capture the doubles
point, UCLA carried that momentum into singles and won in straight
sets on all but Court No. 5.
Senior Chris Lam exacted some revenge at the No. 3 position,
where he defeated BYU’s Chip Hand, 6-3, 6-4. Hand beat Lam
when the teams played each other last year, accounting for the
Cougars’ lone point in their 6-1 defeat.
“I really wanted to come out and play strong and try to
make it a convincing victory,” Lam said.
After getting the day off Tuesday for UCLA’s 7-0 win over
UNLV, Lam appeared to be in complete control of his match. And as
one of the Bruins’ four seniors, he was also quite pleased
with what he saw from his teammates.
“Since about two weeks ago, coach has been trying to get
us pumped up for this match, because they do have potential on
their team, and if you don’t come out to play, anything can
happen,” Lam said. “Everyone came out really strong,
and it was a good win for us.”
Pampoulov continued his masterful play in singles, defeating
Jeff Das 6-2, 6-0 at the No. 1 position. In the second set, Das
looked extremely frustrated, as Pampoulov controlled virtually
every point.
“I played consistent,” said Pampoulov, who has yet
to lose this year, including the fall season. “This is the
most consistent match I’ve played.”
The Bruins, who still haven’t dropped a point this season,
came out Wednesday prepared to play a tough match. But with
everyone focused and playing such good tennis, the win became more
of an exercise in domination.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
“It was really good today,” Kohlloeffel said.
“We played really good doubles today. This was the first
harder test, and we really stepped up.”