The UCLA men’s tennis team will take to the courts in
Seattle this weekend, but they more than likely won’t be
playing against anyone from the University of Washington.
Actually, they might. But first, both teams will have to
navigate through a bracket filled with the best teams in the
country, under circumstances that aren’t necessarily
favorable to the Bruins.
When the Bruins head to this weekend’s USTA-ITA National
Men’s Team Indoor Championships, they’ll see an unusual
challenge of playing indoors but also a rare chance to compete
against the top teams in the country.
“It’s the only time of the year other than the NCAA
Championships when the top teams are all brought to one
place,” UCLA coach Billy Martin said. “It definitely
has a distinct flavor to it.
“Even with the teams we don’t play, I get a chance
to go out and scout. Like a Georgia, or a Florida. These are two of
the top teams in the country that we don’t see
otherwise.”
But beyond the level of competition, the National Indoors
presents logistical challenges as well. Play starts Thursday and
can last through the weekend.
“If you win, it’s a possible four days in a
row,” Martin said. “Even for the best teams, (by the
end of the weekend) fatigue becomes a factor.”
Additionally, the indoor courts represent an extra obstacle.
While most teams from elsewhere in the country play the majority of
their matches indoors, it’s an unusual experience for the
Bruins.
“We don’t play indoors, so that’s a bit of a
disadvantage,” Martin said. “Fortunately,
Washington’s courts are fairly slow (compared to other indoor
courts). Indoors is always a little bit faster (than our courts).
Last year a lot of guys on our team liked the faster courts. This
year, it’s not the same case.”
While the Bruins have usually been able to focus more on getting
ready for Indoors in the past, this year’s hectic schedule
has prevented that. They go into this weekend coming off a 4-3 loss
to No. 4 Pepperdine last Friday and a 4-3 win over San Diego State
on Tuesday.
The Bruins are hoping those home matches will at least give them
some momentum going into the invitational.
“In past years I’ve flown up earlier in the week to
check out the courts,” Martin said. “I’ve tried
to find fast courts in Los Angeles. This year, we’ve been
focused on (San Diego State.)
“(The Pepperdine match showed) how close we are to playing
with the best teams. We didn’t win it, (but) we had
opportunities to win it. If we can keep improving we’ll be
right there. … It definitely matured us as a team.”
Tuesday, that maturity showed as the Bruins began work on a new
home win streak. Friday, the team will continue to see how far it
can take them. The 7th-seeded Bruins open the tournament against
15th-seeded Louisiana State at 2:30 p.m. at the Seattle Tennis
Center. If they win, they’ll likely meet No. 2 ranked Georgia
on Saturday in the quarterfinals.
The 14th-seeded Huskies open Friday night against 11th-seeded
Virginia.
This will be the fourth time since 1999 that Washington will
host the event. At last year’s tournament in Chicago the
Bruins defeated Oklahoma State 4-2 in the opening round, lost to
Virginia 4-2 in the quarterfinals and defeated Florida 4-1 in the
consolation round.