It’s the same old story line.
Take a team that hasn’t won a championship in a long time,
despite numerous opportunities.
Present that team with yet another opportunity, and wonder if
this will finally be the year.
And the honest answer, of course, is that no one really
knows.
Despite five trips to the finals since 1984, the UCLA
men’s tennis team hasn’t been able to secure its 16th
NCAA team championship. The title drought has been marred by
disappointment, heartbreak and vows that it wouldn’t happen
again.
Well, it’s happened again and again, and it happened again
last year, as UCLA lost 4-0 to Baylor in the NCAA title match.
Since then, the team has been forced to stare at the runner-up
trophy in the tennis team room before and after every practice.
“It’s just the worst feeling to be in second
place,” senior Kris Kwinta said. “It just makes you
think about it and work hard toward it and desire it more and
more.”
When the seventh-seeded Bruins (23-3) begin play Saturday in the
Sweet 16 against tenth-seeded Tennessee (16-8) in College Station,
Texas, the desire will certainly be there.
But four tough days of tennis will stand between them and their
ultimate objective. And it’s unrealistic to expect four
flawless days of tennis.
“The most important matches for me are the ones where you
play bad tennis and you get through it somehow,” sophomore
Ben Kohlloeffel said. “It’s impossible to have four
days out there where you always play your best.”
Last season at the NCAA Championships, the Bruins had three
great days of tennis, which included an upset over defending
champion Illinois in the semifinal.
But when it came time for the championship, UCLA appeared to
have nothing left.
The team doesn’t want to have that feeling again.
“I felt that we worked really hard last year,”
senior Alberto Francis said. “But it’s going to have to
take a little more than last year.”
UCLA began its NCAA Tournament last weekend with a 4-0 win over
Manhattan and a hard-fought 4-2 victory over California at the Los
Angeles Tennis Center.
That tough match against Cal has coach Billy Martin feeling good
about the rest of the tournament.
“You put yourself on the line to possibly lose, but if you
get through it, it really helps you,” Martin said.
“The next match isn’t any easier, and they just get
tougher and tougher as you go,” he added.
If the Bruins are fortunate enough to advance past Tennessee, a
tough SEC team known for its strong doubles play, they would likely
get another chance at second-seeded Virginia, the team that sent
the Bruins to their first loss of the season at the National Team
Indoors.
The ultimate revenge could then come into play during the
championship, where the Bruins could possibly get another shot at
Baylor, who is riding a 54-match winning streak dating back to last
season.
“This is what we’ve been waiting for the entire
season,” Kwinta said. “To get our revenge for last
year.”
But there have been plenty of chances before.
The Bruins just want to take advantage of this one.