All opponents of the No. 4 UCLA men’s tennis team should
be aware of one thing by now: The Bruins will show no mercy.
Thus far in the season, the Bruins (3-0) have not lost a single
set in either singles or doubles, let alone a match.
They hope to continue the streak today when they take on No. 49
San Diego State in their final dual match before conference play
begins.
The Aztecs are coming off a 7-0 loss to USC, their first loss of
the season after two consecutive victories.
UCLA will be looking to hand San Diego State its second straight
loss in the Los Angeles area when the Aztecs arrive in Westwood
this afternoon.
When they took on the Trojans, the Aztecs were without their top
singles player, senior Christian Groh, who is currently ranked 28th
in the FILA Collegiate Tennis Rankings. Without its top player, San
Diego State was simply no contest for No. 43 USC, winning just two
sets overall.
UCLA, meanwhile, is coming off of three consecutive 7-0
shutouts.
The Bruins are looking to build on their momentum before heading
to the Bay Area this weekend to take on Pac-10 foes Cal and
Stanford.
“These matches are designed to help us prepare and get
back in the mentality of dual-match season,” UCLA coach Billy
Martin said of the Bruins’ first few matches on the schedule
this season.
Though the Aztecs are likely to be the Bruins’ toughest
test of the 2007 dual-match season, UCLA is still approaching the
meeting as one final tune-up before playing several grueling
matches away from its home courts at the Los Angeles Tennis
Center.
When the two teams met last season in mid-February, the Bruins
escaped by a narrow 4-3 margin. Senior Benjamin Kohlloeffel sealed
that match for the Bruins, beating San Diego State’s Benedikt
Stronk by a score of 6-1, 4-6, 6-2.
UCLA currently holds an unprecedented 31-0 record over the
Aztecs, and the Bruins are looking to capture their next victory as
quickly as possible before preparing for their first back-to-back
matches of the season.