The match had been won an hour before, but still UCLA coach
Billy Martin intently watched the happenings on Court No. 5, where
freshman Mathieu Dehaine faced a super-tiebreak in his third set
against San Diego State’s Dontia Haynes.
Had Dehaine lost, it wouldn’t have mattered much. The team
still would have won its seventh straight match to begin the
season.
But losing hasn’t yet entered the Bruins’ minds, and
Dehaine battled for a hard-fought victory over the emotional
Haynes, winning 7-5, 1-6, 1-0 (11-9). With Friday’s 7-0
victory over the Aztecs, the No. 2 UCLA men’s tennis team
(7-0) registered its seventh consecutive shutout and continued to
show Martin something about the team’s character.
“I just don’t like guys losing,” Martin said.
“Losing can be a habit. You can find a million excuses to
lose, but you should try to win every time you step on the court.
That doesn’t mean you’re going to win every time, but
you want the guy to beat you.”
That hasn’t happened thus far, as San Diego State (2-2)
became yet another victim to leave the Los Angeles Tennis Center
without a single point to show for its efforts.
Martin was convinced that the Aztecs would provide his team the
stiffest competition that it had seen in this young season, but
Friday’s match looked nearly identical to the six that came
before it. The Bruins won the doubles point with dominating wins on
all three doubles courts, and four of the six singles matches were
decided in straight sets.
“I thought we would experience tougher competition here,
but it proves once again that our team is really well-prepared this
season and really focused from the beginning,” said Kris
Kwinta, who beat Daniel Jung, 6-1, 6-2, at No. 6 singles.
“Coach warned us, and everybody took it upon
himself.”
Perhaps the most impressive single performance of the day came
from Benjamin Kohlloeffel at the No. 1 position. Kohlloeffel,
ranked No. 8 in the nation, continued his dominance, blanketing
Armando Carrascosa 6-0, 6-0.
“This was one of those matches that just happen,”
said Kohlloeffel, who had defeated Carrascosa 6-1, 6-1 back in
October. “It wasn’t normal. It’s one of 50 or 60
matches where it’s just really easy, and you just roll.
It’s good to have a match like that, but it’s
definitely not normal.”
Kohlloeffel was absolutely brilliant in the first set,
committing only one unforced error, and a frustrated Carrascosa
provided little resistance in the second set as the German
sophomore cruised to his shutout victory.
“That was as good a job as I’ve seen keeping focus,
staying sharp, and not letting it wander for one point,”
Martin said. “That’s hard to do, and it shows great
maturity.”
Kohlloeffel’s victory was so impressive that even his
teammates, who didn’t see his match because they were playing
matches of their own, took notice.
“That’s pretty scary,” said Kwinta, who lost
to Carrascosa in the fall. “I don’t want to be in the
skin of the guys who play No. 1 for other teams.”
With impressive victories from Luben Pampoulov at No. 2 and
Chris Lam at No. 3, and with San Diego State’s Christian Groh
retiring due to an injury while he was leading Alberto Francis at
No. 4, the Bruins’ record remains unblemished.
And though Martin ultimately cares more about team victories
than the score in those victories, shutouts speak volumes about
character.
“I keep telling the guys that the only thing that 7-0
shows me is that everybody is refusing to lose,” he said.
“They’re not looking up at the scoreboard and seeing
that we won the match and then just kicking back and accepting a
loss.”
“Everybody is taking pride in what they’re doing,
and that will pay off in the end.”