Tourney to prepare men’s tennis for rest of season

While some individuals may take this upcoming Martin Luther King Jr. weekend to travel, visit friends or relax at home, the UCLA men’s tennis team will be hard at work at the Sherwood Collegiate Cup in Thousand Oaks. This individual-style tournament will take place from Jan. 16-19 at the Sherwood Country Club ““ a prime location to view competitive tennis.

The tournament will feature a 32-person singles draw and a 16-team draw in doubles with a wide range of players from across the nation, including competitors from USC, Stanford, Baylor, Minnesota and Boise State.

With such a competitive field, the tournament provides a great opportunity for the players to obtain some match experience and improve their conditioning, especially after the winter break.

“We were actually very fortunate.” coach Billy Martin said. “Normally, we don’t even get two full weeks of practice in before the tournament. A lot of times, and depending on when the guys start school, it’s that first weekend, so we’re even rustier.”

Additionally, the tournament is not quite as intense as a dual match, making it an ideal time to prepare for the upcoming dual match season which begins on Jan. 22 at home when the Bruins host Brigham Young.

The UCLA team will enter seven singles players and four doubles teams into the tournament.

The team figures to have a strong chance at winning the singles draw despite the strong competition, because the team has a tradition of finding success at the tournament.

“We’ve won it numerous, numerous times,” Martin said.

“(Redshirt junior Haythem) Abid won it two years ago, and I think we had a streak probably of about three or four years previous to that of having a UCLA guy win it.”

Beyond defending his title, Abid and the Bruins will look to figure out where the team stacks up and how far along the players are in regaining their form.

“I think it’ll be a good show of who deserves to play where,” sophomore Nick Meister said.

Some of the challenges of playing on the road might play a factor in the team’s performance this weekend.

But staying at a hotel near the country club will help to keep the team focused.

“When you go on the road, you have to take a little more precaution, like having your medical stuff with you, but the preparations are always the same,” Abid said.

Martin emphasized that he isn’t specifically looking for one of the Bruins to win the tournament but instead wants to see how the players are performing and if they’re in good shape.

“We’ll get a good feel for who’s looking really sharp and who’s a little bit behind in their tennis and need to get themselves going a little bit more,” Martin said.

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