When the No. 4 UCLA men’s tennis team took the courts of the Los Angeles Tennis Center on Wednesday afternoon against San Diego, they took no mercy.
The Bruins (2-0) handed the Toreros their first loss of the season, posting an impressive 7-0 shutout. For the second consecutive match, UCLA didn’t drop a single set.
“We started doubles very confident and we all really stepped up,” sophomore Haythem Abid said. “For the singles, it was the same thing, and everyone did a good job.”
The Bruins got off to a quick start by winning the doubles point, and several members of the home squad continued the theme by quickly taking care of their opponents.
Senior Philipp Gruendler and sophomore Michael Look gave UCLA a 3-0 lead before 2006 NCAA Individuals champion Benjamin Kohlloeffel clinched the win for the Bruins with a 6-4, 6-0 win over Thomas Liversage on the top court.
“All in all, I think it was a good warm-up for what we need to get us prepared for what it’s going to be like for these tough matches next week,” UCLA coach Billy Martin said.
In the remaining matches, sophomores Jeremy Drean and Mathieu Dehaine both had one of their two sets go into a tiebreaker, but both managed to pull out with straight-set victories, and Abid defeated his opponent Jonas Mouly 6-3, 6-2.
“Mathieu struggled a little bit but kept his head and was able to pull off the win,” Martin said. “He didn’t dominate the way I would have liked him to, and there were just way too many unforced errors.”
But Martin feels his team will be able to bounce back and work on the simple fundamentals prior to next week’s much-anticipated matches against California and Stanford, two solid Pac-10 teams.
First, though, UCLA will be taking on San Diego State this Friday in a match that will help prepare the Bruins for not only the conference matches right around the corner, but also for the USTA/ITA National Team Indoors in Chicago in mid-February.
“Some of the guys aren’t moving as quick and aren’t getting to the ball as fast as I’d like them to, but that won’t show up until they play good players when we play good teams,” Martin said.
“I’m playing better and better every match, and as the competition level raises, I feel like my play gets better,” Abid echoed.
Though the Bruins expected nothing less than a shutout against the Toreros on Wednesday, they realize the match serves not only to boost their record but to offer something that they can’t get in any other way.
“I think it was a good match to get ready for the bigger ones against SDSU, Cal, Stanford, and then the Indoors,” Drean said. “Though it’s not the toughest team, it’s still different from practice because it’s actual competition and we’re getting a chance to play.”
INJURY UPDATE: Senior Chris Surapol sat out of singles play once again, as a precautionary measure. The captain contributed for the Bruins in doubles action, teaming with Abid, but did not compete further due to a shoulder injury. Surapol will likely return for the Bruins by next week as an integral contributor in the lineup.