Whether shutting out a team signifies a decisive statement or
just another winning margin is a debate many men’s tennis
teams never get to have. For UCLA, it’s been something to
ponder every match this season.
With its 7-0 win over UC Santa Barbara on Tuesday, the No. 2
Bruins (5-0) have opened their season with five consecutive
shutouts.
And the importance of not giving up a point varies from player
to player.
“It sends a message to the nation that no one can joke
around with us,” said senior Kris Kwinta, whose opponent was
forced to retire after a groin injury in the middle of the first
set. “You don’t want to show any weaknesses.”
Coach Billy Martin and No. 1 singles player Benjamin
Kohlloeffel, on the other hand, weren’t too concerned with a
final 7-0 score.
“It doesn’t matter if three of us lose,”
Kohlloeffel said. “It’s just important that we got four
and won.”
Though Kohlloeffel downplayed the significance of the shutout
streak, he was the one looking to preserve it during the final
moments of Tuesday’s match. After splitting the first two
sets, Kohlloeffel and Alex Anselme went to a supertiebreak, where
UCLA’s top player faced match point at 8-9.
“I was kind of mad I couldn’t convert my break
chances,” said Kohlloeffel, who had won his previous four
matches in straight sets. “When you always win easy and then
have your first close one, you’re not used to it and
it’s hard to play at another level.”
“That’s what happens when you play bad teams. They
bring you down and it’s hard to focus.”
After Anselme tied the supertiebreak at 6-6, Kohlloeffel drew a
point penalty for racket abuse to go down by a point. However, he
rebounded to win five of the next seven points to take the
supertiebreak, 11-9.
“I didn’t feel like he had a lot of energy out
there,” Martin said.
“It was just good enough to win.”
Freshman Mathieu Dehaine, who was forced to a second-set
tiebreak on Court 3, was the only other Bruin who was in some
jeopardy of losing his match.
Despite fielding two new doubles teams and resting two of its
top four singles players, the Bruins cruised in most of their
matches.
“It’s a little scary, but I felt pretty confident
that we could do it,” Martin said of using two new doubles
teams.
With Luben Pampoulov taking the day off because of a neck injury
and Alberto Francis not playing in order to stay within the
25-match limit this season, the Bruins were required to play up a
position and had to tap into some of their lesser used
reserves.
It didn’t affect the match’s outcome in the least
bit.
And it kept the shutout streak intact as well.