The UCLA men’s tennis team has two players ranked in the
national top-10, yet neither has a chance to win the Pac-10 singles
title.
That’s because you can’t win if you don’t
play.
On Wednesday coach Billy Martin withdrew Luben Pampoulov from
the Pac-10 Championships, which begin today at Libbey Park in Ojai.
Pampoulov, ranked No. 6, has been suffering with a high fever since
Monday. He joins teammate Benjamin Kohlloeffel, ranked No. 8, who
is skipping the singles portion of the tournament to concentrate on
school and avoid tennis burn-out.
“Do I feel bad? No,” Martin said.
“You’ve got to do what’s best for your
team.”
Though Martin admits that the tournament committee probably
isn’t too happy with him for keeping his best players out of
the tournament, he remains steadfast that he is doing that which is
in the best interests of the players. And he feels that the Bruins
who will be playing have a legitimate chance to do some damage.
Seniors Kris Kwinta, Chris Lam and Alberto Francis, along with
sophomore Philipp Gruendler will represent UCLA in the main draw.
The winner of the main draw receives an automatic bid into the draw
at the NCAA Championships.
“I think the four guys that are in it are really hungry to
do well and get into the NCAA Tournament,” Martin said.
But that will not be an easy task, as five Pac-10 players other
than Kohlloeffel and Pampoulov are ranked in the top-15.
Stanford’s Sam Warburg, ranked No. 4, is the defending Pac-10
champion.
Cal’s Conor Niland (No. 9), Washington’s Alex Vlaski
(No. 10), USC’s Jamil Al-Agba (No. 12), who defeated
Kohlloeffel in UCLA’s 5-2 victory last Friday, and
Stanford’s KC Corkery (No. 13) are also considered to be
among the tournament favorites.
Though Martin feels that the tournament is valuable in some
regards, he certainly doesn’t consider it a necessity.
“Some guys need it; some guys don’t,” he said.
“It’s not the most critical thing for us, quite
honestly.”
The Bruin coach said he is looking forward to seeing how his
four players competing in the main draw will fare against some of
the nation’s best.
He is also excited to see his French freshmen, Mathieu Dehaine
and Jeremy Drean, compete in the invitational bracket.
In doubles, Francis and Kwinta and Kohlloeffel and Gruendler
will compete in the main draw.
The Pac-10 Championships run today through Sunday. All matches
are held at Libbey Park in Ojai.