When it comes to the NCAA Tournament, no extra motivation is
usually necessary.
But it certainly couldn’t hurt.
When play begins Saturday for the UCLA men’s tennis team
(21-3) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the Los Angeles
Tennis Center, the team will stare down a bracket that could
present as many as three unique opportunities for revenge and
vindication. It’s a mental advantage that UCLA coach Billy
Martin can’t help but be excited about.
“From a psychological standpoint, I think it’s
tougher to beat a team you’ve beaten two or three times in a
row when you know your opponent is going to come back a little
hungrier,” Martin said.
Martin undoubtedly hopes that his players will be the hungry
ones. And based on results earlier in the season, that will likely
be the case.
There is little doubt that UCLA should breeze by Manhattan
College (16-4) in the first round of the tournament, but after
that, anything could happen. The seventh-seeded Bruins would face
the winner of the California v. San Diego State match in the second
round.
Cal beat UCLA 4-3 in the last meeting between the schools at
Berkeley and the Bruins are looking to avoid a repeat performance.
That’s where the extra motivation part comes in.
“That was annoying because we’re a lot better team
than them,” senior Alberto Francis said. “I just felt
that it was disappointing.
“There’s plenty of excuses, but we lost. The bottom
line is that we lost, and now we can get our revenge.”
UCLA beat Cal 7-0 in the teams’ first meeting this season
at LATC, but Cal (11-9) closed the season with a four-match winning
streak, registering victories over UCLA, USC and Stanford in the
process.
“I’m sure Cal, after we beat them here, was pretty
hungry to beat us, and they did that,” Martin said. “I
hope we can reciprocate. We’ll be pretty fired up to avenge
our loss and make a statement to them about who we think is the
better team.”
In the minds of the Bruins, there is no doubt about the answer
to that question. But if the team wants to advance deep into the
tournament, they will likely have to answer it again.
If UCLA finds a way to advance to the Elite Eight, the Bruins
could get another crack at second-seeded Virginia, the team that
sent them to their first loss of the season at the National Team
Indoors.
“For me, I would like to get a chance to play
Virginia,” Martin said.
“I’ve said that since the beginning of the year. I
thought we did pretty good against them in the Indoors, but with
Luben (Pampoulov) in the singles lineup, I think we have a good
chance to get a victory there.”
Pampoulov, ranked No. 7 in the country, has recovered from a
neck injury, and there can be no more excuses for the Bruins. The
next excuse means that the season is over.
“I always think that (losing) stimulates a
competitor,” Martin said. “If my guys are competitors
and they want to stand up to that test, I think we should be
ready.”
The ultimate test could come in the form of defending national
champion Baylor, the team that beat UCLA 4-0 in last season’s
championship match.
The Bears haven’t lost in 52 matches. But that potential
opportunity for revenge is still five victories down the road.
Right now, the Bruins are focused on Manhattan, Cal, San Diego
State and, ultimately, themselves.
“We should not be concerned about our opponent,”
senior Kris Kwinta said. “We should be concerned about our
game and our preparation.”