The UCLA men’s tennis team dug themselves a hole that was too deep to climb back out of on Friday afternoon at USC.
The No. 6 Bruins (9-3) got off to a bad start, falling behind 2-0 early, and were unable to get themselves a lead, although there were several chances on each court against the No. 9 Trojans.
“Not winning the doubles point and Philipp (Gruendler) having a horrible match got us into a deep hole,” UCLA coach Billy Martin said. “They’re just two points away from getting it. It’s discouraging for the rest of the guys.”
UCLA’s top player, Benjamin Kohlloeffel found himself in a back-and-forth battle with Dejan Cvetkovic, with both players breaking each other frequently in both the first and second sets. Just as it appeared that Kohlloeffel had brought himself back into the match after losing the first set, the third-ranked player in the nation had several unforced errors and was unable to force a second-set tiebreaker.
“Benny (Kohlloeffel) probably played as bad of a match as I’ve seen him play in a while,” Martin said.
The Bruins were then down 3-0, but Haythem Abid was able to get his team on the board with a 6-4, 7-5 win over Jamil Al-Agba, and UCLA appeared to have a chance to keep their hopes of a win alive.
At one point, UCLA senior captain Chris Surapol had come back from being down 5-2 in the third set to make it 5-4, junior Mathieu Dehaine had just won his second set in a tie-breaker after losing the first set 7-6, and sophomore Michael Look’s opponent, Gary Sacks, appeared to be injured, giving the Bruins a great spark.
But the fire was quickly extinguished, as Surapol fell short of completing his comeback, losing to Kaes Van’t Hof 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 after hitting a forehand into the net.
“I usually never miss those forehands,” Surapol said. “It’s unbelievable.”
Surapol, who has been plagued with injuries for much of the season, felt his legs give out on him during the third set.
On court No. 5, Dehaine was unable to capture his first set after having set points, and Kohlloeffel was unable to convert on game points during critical times in his match, a rarity in the senior’s game.
“I think they absolutely looked like the better team,” Martin said. “They looked hungrier. There was no doubt about it. It was evident to everyone in the stadium.”
WOMEN’S TENNIS: The No. 19 UCLA women’s tennis team will look to bounce back from a loss of their own to USC when it takes on No. 25 Baylor on Tuesday afternoon.
Once the Bruins take on the Bears, they will face off against Pac-10 teams Arizona and Arizona State on March 16 and March 17, respectively.