The UCLA men’s tennis team earned its ticket to the NCAA
Sweet 16 on Sunday when it defeated Colorado.
The 4-0 defeat was hard on the Colorado Buffaloes because not
only did it mark the end of their season, but it could also be the
last match ever played by the program.
“I think there were a lot of emotions in that game, and
UCLA managed to take advantage of the nervousness in the
doubles,” said Colorado coach Sam Winterbotham, who was named
Mountain Region Coach of the Year.
Following financial difficulties, the Athletic Department at the
University of Colorado had to review its budget and decided to cut
the men’s tennis program.
“We are working to correct structural problems in our
operation, and these cuts are necessary in an effort to create a
more efficient overall athletic program,” Colorado athletic
director Mike Bohn said in a statement,
But it might not be all over just yet. The team was given eight
weeks at the end of March to come up with $1 million, which would
finance the program for three to five years. A final decision is
expected by the end of the week.
“We have already raised $600,000 in the past eight weeks,
and money keeps coming in,” Winterbotham said. “At this
moment, nothing is definite.”
College tennis is not the most popular sport in the country, but
it has brought great champions to a professional level and has
offered fantastic sporting competition throughout the years.
However, Colorado’s misfortune is not an isolated problem in
the sport.
“The fact that their program might disappear does not
affect college tennis drastically, but it is the trend that scares
all of us,” UCLA coach Billy Martin said.
About three tennis programs have disappeared each year in the
recent past, all for different reasons. Although the Colorado
Athletic Department chose men’s tennis for financial reasons,
other issues are linked to the decision as well.
“I think it has a lot to do with Title IX, because we are
probably one of the least expensive sports at the college
level,” Martin said.
If the program were to disappear, the University of Colorado
would be left with the minimum amount of 16 sports required to
remain in NCAA Division I, something coach Winterbotham finds
regrettable.
“Personally, I think that a great university like Colorado
should have more than the minimum,” Winterbotham said.
For the players, the end of the tennis team would mean the end
of college life as they know it. Although all scholarships would be
honored, some players would transfer to other schools in order to
keep playing, while others would remain at Colorado.
“I think I would miss my teammates the most,” UCLA
men’s tennis player and junior Chris Surapol said. “As
an athlete you spend most of your time at college with your
teammates, and it is unlikely you would transfer with someone from
your team.”
Colorado senior Chad Tsuda played in doubles and singles against
Surapol, a player he has known and been friends with since the
junior level of the sport. Surapol’s victory brought a third
point for the Bruins, and it also ended Tsuda’s college
tennis career for good.
“I saw him looking around before match point and probably
thinking this was his last,” Surapol said. “I felt for
him.”
But if the Buffaloes’ second-round defeat to the Bruins
does end up their last match, it will have been a great one.
“I think our players did very well here; it is just tough
to come up against such a great team,” Winterbotham said.