To say that the UCLA men’s tennis team lost a few key players to graduation last season would be an understatement.
A significant understatement.
Benjamin Kohlloeffel, Philipp Gruendler and Chris Surapol were the core of a team that reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championships last year, before losing to eventual champion and top-ranked Georgia.
“Certainly losing them was a big hit for our team,” coach Billy Martin said. “They were outstanding players.
“Ben might be one of the all-time, if not the best, player UCLA has ever had singles-wise in my 25 years. We lost a really major part of our team.”
This season, Bruins unfamiliar with the spotlight will be expected to carry the program with their experience.
One of those key Bruins, junior Haythem Abid, will have to watch the first matches of the season from the sidelines.
He is recovering from a surgery to his dominant left wrist.
Abid underwent surgery due to cysts that had been bothering him on the court and had affected his game, but during surgery, the surgeon found what other physicians had suspected ““ a torn ligament, which requires a two-month recovery process of which Abid is halfway through.
“I was expecting to lead the team, but now I can’t play for at least four or five more weeks,” he said. “Right now I’m not thinking about redshirting, but in the worst case scenario I might redshirt, but I think if I have the chance to help the team this year, I’ll play this year.”
Abid was expected to fill the No. 1 singles position, after bouncing back his sophomore year from a subpar freshman season, and also contribute to the Bruins’ doubles lineup.
With the loss of Abid, Martin will have to re-adjust his roster yet again and look for three consistent doubles teams and a singles lineup that will put his UCLA team in the best position to compete.
Unlike last year where the Bruins were able to go into the match with an almost guaranteed 1-0 edge over their opponents, thanks to the dominance of Kohlloeffel, UCLA won’t be able to take any match for granted, with each win probably coming down to the wire.
“I’m optimistic, but we’re going to have to scrape and earn every victory this year,” Martin said. “From our first match against Irvine, we’re going to have to earn every match.
“It’s going to be a challenging year to say the very least.”
To help Martin cope with the challenges is the Bruins’ new assistant coach Kris Kwinta, who played for Martin in 2005, and is most well-recognized for clinching the 2005 NCAA Championship for the Bruins with his three-set win against Baylor in the final.
Kwinta served as an undergraduate assistant coach last season while finishing his political science degree, and was hired as the assistant coach after the departure of former assistant coach Jason Sher.
“I love it,” Kwinta said of his job. “It’s just a continuation of my college career.
“There are many situations where I miss being on the court and having to deal with the problems on the court, where I try to figure out how to beat my opponents, but I feel like this is as close as I’ll get to doing that again.”
Kwinta, like Martin, remains optimistic for the season, and spends much of his time working with returning players Mathieu Dehaine, Jeremy Drean and Michael Look, on perfecting varying aspects of their games.
Along with the returning players are newcomers such as freshman Nick Meister and Holden Seguso, as well as Harel Srugo, a transfer from Old Dominion, who may sit out the first few matches due to back pains; aall of who are expected to have an immediate impact for the team.
“I think they all have potential to play and do well, especially Nick, Harel, and Holden,” Abid said of the incoming players.
“We’re going to have to have the guys step up and try to do the best job we can,” Martin added. “It’s going to be a tough year until Abid gets back.”
The Bruins are eager to open their season and will do so on Wednesday when they take on UC Irvine at the Los Angeles Tennis Center.
“Everybody’s pretty excited,” Dehaine said. “The freshmen are pretty motivated; they want to play and they want to get started. The only trouble is that we have some big injuries.”