So far, the season for the No. 9 UCLA men’s tennis team could be characterized as streaky.
They opened the dual-match season winning their first six matches, but then dropped four of their next five matches.
Having made it through that rough patch, full of injuries and uncertainty, the Bruins (14-4, 4-0 Pac-10) have regained their stride and are currently riding a seven-match win streak headed into a crucial match against the No. 18 Arizona Wildcats (17-3, 2-2) Saturday.
If USC, which plays Arizona today, and UCLA both emerge victorious over the Wildcats, the cross-town rivals will engage in a showdown for the Pac-10 title April 17 at the Los Angeles Tennis Center.
But coach Billy Martin is making sure that his team does not overlook a tough Arizona squad, which has only lost three matches all season and is coming off of a huge upset over No. 8 Stanford on April 3.
“It’s our job as coaches to make sure the players don’t look too far ahead,” Martin said after the team’s practice on Wednesday. “(Arizona) probably has their best team in many years. If we look too far ahead, we can get bit right in the you-know-what.”
Arizona stands at .500 in Pac-10 play, and although the Bruins are undefeated at 4-0, Martin is aware of what the Wildcats are capable of.
“(Arizona) just had a great win against Stanford, who has beaten us already,” Martin said. “It would be a great thing to play (USC) here for the championship, but how stupid would we feel if we really let our guard down, overlooked Arizona and lost to them, and at best get a tie for the Pac-10 championship?”
With the Pac-10 season coming to a close and the NCAA Championships right around the corner, the Bruins appear to be playing some of their best tennis. In addition to the victories over Washington and Oregon, one of the major positives occurring over this past weekend for the Bruins was the full-fledged return of senior leader Harel Srugo, who has been on the shelf for singles in the last nine matches due to injury.
Srugo was victorious in both of his singles matches over the weekend and seems thrilled to be back in the Bruins’ rotation.
“I’m not at 100 percent, but I am back and it feels great to be back in the lineup,” Srugo said. “I’m loving getting back to competing, especially in this part of the season where every match is very important.”
Srugo and his Bruin teammates, like to Martin and his staff, are careful not to take Arizona for granted.
“We know they are a dangerous team,” Srugo said. “It’s definitely not going to be an easy match. (The Wildcats) are having a great season so far ““ one of their best in years. It’s going to be a tough match.”
After facing Arizona Saturday, the Bruins will travel to face No. 17 Pepperdine on Monday, a match that was originally planned to take place earlier in the season but was rescheduled due to inclement weather.