Redshirt junior Amit Inbar is setting the tone early for the UCLA men’s tennis team.
Just two weeks into the Bruins’ fall season, Inbar captured the singles championship at the ITA West/South Regional Championships on Tuesday, setting the precedent for what figures to be a special season for the Bruins, who made it to the NCAA tennis Final Four just over four months ago.
Inbar won six matches during the week-long tournament culminating in a straight-set victory over Pepperdine’s Alex Llompart, 7-5, 6-3.
“It’s a great feeling,” Inbar said after Tuesday’s match. “I’ve worked really hard since we got back in school, and it all came together. I’m happy I won (the tournament).”
Inbar was one of four Bruins seeded in the tournament.
Senior Matt Brooklyn was seeded No. 3, while senior Kallim Stewart and junior Nick Meister were seeded No. 6 and No. 7, respectively.
Though in his last year of eligibility, Stewart is in his first season with the Bruins after transferring from California.
The No. 9 seed Inbar and UCLA coach Billy Martin agree that the emergence of Inbar’s serve is what carried him throughout the tournament.
“I served really well this week,” Inbar said. “I’m a lefty, so I had a little advantage because they weren’t used to lefty serves. And Pepperdine’s courts are a little faster, and I used that to my advantage.”
Martin seconded Inbar’s notions, commenting that he has never seen the junior tennis player look so calm on the court.
“He served the best I’ve ever seen him serve,” Martin said. “That’s biggest improvement over the last year. I also thought he moved well and was a lot more comfortable on court. He seemed a lot more relaxed.”
However, Inbar maintains that he owes his championship performance to the effort of his coaches and the help he receives from teammates.
“I would give the credit to my coaching staff and teammates though,” Inbar said. “Without them I couldn’t have done it.”
Martin, ecstatic about Inbar’s offseason improvement and potential contributions to the Bruins this year, is more excited about what a win like this can do for Inbar’s mentality as well as the team’s confidence in the long run.
“It’s nice for me, but I’m more excited for Amit,” Martin said. “He won among some top guys. It definitely gives him confidence, and that’s going to help the team overall for sure.”
Inbar’s win gives him an automatic bid into the main draw of the ITA Intercollegiate Indoor Championships, held Nov. 5-8 in West Haven, Conn.