The injury bug looked as if it was finally going to catch up to the UCLA men’s tennis team Wednesday afternoon, but the No. 10 Bruins were able to overcome an early deficit to claim a comeback victory over the Pepperdine Waves, 4-3.
The Bruins found themselves in unfamiliar territory early in the match, losing the doubles point and falling behind, 1-0. But after two singles wins on courts five and six, by UCLA senior Kallim Stewart and freshman Maxime Tabatruong, respectively, the Bruins took a 2-1 lead overall.
“It’s added pressure,” Stewart said about losing the doubles point. “Pepperdine is a tough team because they’re very loud and very in-your-face. But we weren’t discouraged or demoralized because we lost the doubles point.”
But after a win on court No. 1 for Pepperdine, knotting the score at 2-2, the Bruins and Waves found themselves in a back-and-forth struggle to grab the momentum. Juniors Nick Meister and Amit Inbar were both pushed to third sets. Both came out victorious, clinching the victory for UCLA.
One bright spot for the Bruins was the return of senior Haythem Abid to the singles lineup. Abid, who has been battling a wrist injury, played on court No. 1 for the Bruins, falling to Pepperdine’s Bassam Beidas, 3-6, 3-6.
UCLA’s other injured player, junior Holden Seguso, competed in doubles for the Bruins on Wednesday, but still has not returned to the singles lineup.
However, the Bruins are confident that they can maintain their high level of play while their two top players work toward returning to form.
“Obviously when you lose two of your top players, it’s more pressure on everyone but we’re a deep team,” Stewart said. “We have eight guys that are really good players. We don’t want to have Abid injured, and if we can get Holden back as soon as possible, that’s great. But we’re good right now because everyone’s getting a chance to show how they’re playing.”