The majority of the UCLA men’s tennis team knows that this
is it. Regardless of what happens in the next few days, there will
be no further opportunities for redemption. For the four Bruin
seniors, that’s the harsh reality. Luben Pampoulov, Kris
Kwinta, Chris Lam and Alberto Francis have all been in this
position before, and as the days pass, it becomes more and more
evident that they will never be here again. With the seventh-seeded
Bruins (23-3) set to begin play in the Sweet 16 on Saturday, the
seniors have one final chance to win the national title that has
eluded the UCLA program since 1984. “When you get to your
senior year, you really realize that it’s your last
chance,” Lam said. “You just give it everything you
have because you know there’s no next year.” Though
Francis is the only Bruin senior who has been a part of the program
for four seasons, each has tasted heartbreaking defeat. And no one
particularly enjoys the flavor. It’s that feeling, that
experience, that coach Billy Martin hopes will propel his team to
its ultimate goal. “In the immediate right now, it’s a
great feeling to have those four guys and know that there’s a
lot of experience,” Martin said. “When it gets to these
tough, tough matches and pressure in the NCAAs, that’s when
it really counts.” It’s a rarity for a team to be led
by so many seniors, and it’s rarer still to have a team with
a group of individual seniors who have each traced such a different
path to Westwood. There’s the soft-spoken Bulgarian who moved
to Austria when he was young and appears to be all business, all
the time. There’s the Hawaiian who garnered absolutely no
attention from UCLA when he was in high school. There’s the
Pole who by himself accounts for just about all of the personality
on the team. And there’s the Texan who has been in Westwood
through it all. “Everyone is a little different, but we get
along very well,” Francis said. “To win it would be
something we’d remember forever.” Perhaps it’s
that shared motivation that has allowed four very different
individuals to come together and co-exist as they have. And in the
final analysis, it may be the fact that each player is so distinct
that has contributed to the Bruins’ successes.
The Quiet One It’s rare to see Luben Pampoulov show any
emotion on the tennis court. He is like a surgeon, so intent on the
task at hand that nothing appears to shake his concentration.
Ranked No. 7 nationally, the Bruins’ No. 1 player is the kind
of guy that a coach seldom has to even think about.
“He’s a good leader,” Martin said.
“He’s pretty much all business. He’s had his ups
and downs this year, but he’s always stayed pretty focused.
“I couldn’t ask for much more.” Only in his
second year actually playing for the Bruins, the 24-year-old
Pampoulov has had more than enough ups and downs to define a
collegiate career. He began taking classes at UCLA in the spring of
2003 but was ineligible to play tennis for a whole year. When he
joined the lineup in April, UCLA went on to win every match he
played, except last year’s NCAA Championship against Baylor.
This season, Pampoulov suffered with a pinched nerve in his neck,
causing him to miss several matches while rendering him ineffective
in others. But now he’s back to full strength, ready to make
one final push at a title. “I feel good,” Pampoulov
said. “I’m ready to go.”
The Undesired One Though Chris Lam was the top-ranked junior in
Hawaii, that fact alone doesn’t exactly land you on
UCLA’s recruiting radar. But after spending his first year of
college at Santa Clara, where he had an impressive season at the
No. 1 spot, higher profile programs came calling. UCLA was one of
them. “It’s been his dream to come here, and he
didn’t have the chance out of high school,” Martin
said. Given the chance, Lam, who plays at the No. 4 position, has
tried to make the most of it. But he certainly hasn’t escaped
his share of disappointment. Lam lost a heartbreaking match his
sophomore year in the NCAA semifinals that helped seal the
team’s defeat against Vanderbilt. As the team’s captain
last season, he can’t help but remember the loss to Baylor.
“We know what it’s like to make it all the way to the
finals and lose, and we know how disappointing that is and how much
it hurts,” Lam said. “That motivates you and pushes you
even more.”
The Personality It’s difficult to characterize Kris Kwinta
in any other way. After transferring from Tennessee before last
season, Kwinta has certainly made a mark on his teammates and
coaches. “He’s the real personality on our team,”
Martin said. “He’s certainly more of a challenge from a
coaching standpoint, but he works as hard as anybody on our
team.” A gifted doubles player, Kwinta also saw his stock
rise in singles this season, moving from the No. 5 spot up to the
No. 3 spot after a string of impressive performances.
“I’m happy to play a little higher than last year and
hopefully prove myself,” Kwinta said. He’s certainly
proven himself as a character, undoubtedly lightening the
team’s mood when the pressure intensifies. “Kwinta is
the crazy guy who we have to take care of,” sophomore Ben
Kohlloeffel said jokingly. And now one year older and one year
wiser, Kwinta says he knows what the NCAA Tournament is all about.
“Last year I thought that going to the finals was a great
accomplishment for the team,” Kwinta said. “This year
our aspirations are higher. We’re aiming for the
top.”
The Constant No one on the current Bruin team has been there to
experience the same heartbreak as Alberto Francis. The Texas native
played at the No. 3 doubles position when the team lost in the
semifinals his freshman year. He was also a part of the doubles
lineup in the 2003 loss to Vanderbilt in the semifinals. And he was
in the singles and doubles lineup last year during the Baylor
debacle. “It felt horrible to lose in the finals,”
Francis said. “I told my dad it’s the same as losing in
the first or second round because nobody remembers second
place.” And Francis doesn’t want to have to relive that
feeling. He said that he and Chris Lam have been talking a lot with
their teammates, making it clear how much this final chance at an
NCAA Championship means to them. Francis has played that way, too,
posting a 21-2 record in dual matches this season. “He knows
what it’s about,” Martin said. “Look at his
record. “He’s heard me say everything 20 times.
He’s been there ready to play for us.”
The Goal Whether the Bruins’ status as a senior-laden team
translates into NCAA success remains to be seen. But everyone seems
to agree that it couldn’t hurt. “Even though I think
they gave 100 percent last year, I think they’re capable of
giving even more this year because it’s their last
year,” sophomore Philipp Gruendler said. Gruendler and
Kohlloeffel are certainly happy about playing alongside their
senior teammates. There’s just something motivating about
last chances. “If you have four of them, basically you have
four players who will fight their asses off because it’s
their last chance,” Gruendler said. “That makes you
feel comfortable for the whole team.” As for the seniors?
Well, this is it. “Every year I’ve felt good about our
team,” Francis said. “We’ve had a legitimate
chance every year. It’s going to come down to a few points
here and there, and hopefully our experience will pull us through.
“Hopefully come Tuesday, we’ll be holding up a
trophy.”