After competing at the National Team Indoors last week and
having the Southern California rain keep them from practicing, the
Bruins were more than eager to return outdoors for two key matches
over the weekend.
The clear skies returned long enough for the No. 4 Bruins to
edge out No. 18 Stanford, 4-3, on Friday and shut out California,
7-0, on Saturday.
With the victories, UCLA improved to 12-1 on the season, still
boasting an unblemished record at the Los Angeles Tennis Center
this season.
“(Cal and Stanford) are two good teams so it’s
always good to get a win over both of them, especially against
Stanford,” senior Chris Lam said.
“It was really close so it was a good win for
us.”
The downpour early last week had kept the Bruins from practicing
at the LATC, so UCLA coach Billy Martin had some worries about how
the team would react against the Cardinal after not playing a match
outdoors since Feb. 8.
Martin’s premonitions about rust seemed to be warranted on
Friday, as the Bruins quickly fell behind 1-0 to Stanford after
losing the doubles’ point when UCLA’s No. 1 team of
senior Luben Pampoulov and sophomore Benjamin Kohlloeffel fell 9-7
to the defending NCAA-champion doubles team of Sam Warburg and KC
Corkery.
But, just like the weather, UCLA quickly turned its fortunes
around, winning three singles matches in straight sets to take the
match lead.
Kohlloeffel, who defeated 31st-ranked Corkery 6-2, 6-0, enjoyed
the experience of competing against Stanford after sitting out the
showdown with the Cardinal last season.
“There’s kind of a rivalry there between Stanford
and UCLA,” Kohlloeffel said. “It was just so much fun
to play. It was great to get a close win, it was
perfect.”
After a disappointing showing at the National Team Indoors,
Friday’s tough match against Stanford may have been just what
the Bruins needed to regain some competitive spirit.
UCLA used the momentum from its victory over the Cardinal to
thoroughly outplay California one day later.
“I thought we looked a little bit sharper (Saturday) which
I knew we probably would,” Martin said. “I thought we
looked a lot more comfortable out here. I feel like we played a bit
better as the match went along.”