Only three weeks have passed since the No. 10 UCLA men’s tennis team returned from Tempe, Ariz., with a shutout against both Arizona State and Arizona under its belt.
It is quite likely that Arizona State may very well have forgotten just how easily the Bruins (13-3, 2-0 Pac-10) had cruised en route to the victory, after the Sun Devils just successfully captured their first ever Pac-10 weekend sweep over Cal and Stanford at home to open up conference play.
“They’re going to be fairly confident coming into the match,” UCLA coach Billy Martin said. “And there’s been enough time in between our last match, so they probably don’t remember when we went there and beat them.”
Martin’s squad will have a varying approach to the match, although the Bruins know the Sun Devils won’t go down without giving them their best shot.
For UCLA, the pair of matches this weekend against Arizona State and Arizona will be a chance to carry on the team’s Pac-10 success in hopes of winning the conference title for the fourth consecutive year.
“It’s important to win this match and keep playing consistently,” junior Mathieu Dehaine said. “We’ve got to step it up at this time of the season.”
After the pair of matches, the Bruins will take on San Diego State on Tuesday before finishing up Pac-10 play on the road against Cal and Stanford, and end the regular season at home with a chance for revenge against USC.
“By the time we play USC again, we want to be at the top of our games,” Dehaine said.
“I think these matches are really important to help prepare for the big matches at the end of the season,” sophomore Haythem Abid added. “We just have to play solid and come away with these matches.”
Though the Bruins are heavily anticipating the matches following their meeting with the Aztecs, Martin has emphasized to the players the importance of focusing on each match separately while still improving their physical conditioning and strength.
“We’ve been getting physically fit through conditioning and weight lifting, because if we hope to make a run in the NCAAs, we’re going to need to be in the best shape possible,” Martin said.
“But with only seven Pac-10 matches, each match counts a lot and we don’t want to lose any of them, so we have to focus on these matches now because they’re not going to roll over and die for us.”
WOMEN’S TENNIS: The No. 11 UCLA women’s tennis team takes on Arizona State today in Tempe as it looks to extend its win streak to five before taking on Arizona on Saturday.
Upon returning from their trip to Arizona, the Bruins will close off their season in the Los Angeles area with their only match away from home at USC, as they look to finish strong before heading into the NCAA championships with the intent of hosting an NCAA Regional.