Every match is winnable, said senior and co-captain Dennis Mkrtchian at Tuesday’s UCLA men’s tennis practice.
This is the mentality that Mkrtchian and his co-captain, junior Karue Sell, want their fellow teammates to have going into the rivalry match against USC Saturday.
“With ‘SC, you never know what is going to happen,” Sell said. “It is going to be a tight match no matter what.”
It will be a rematch of the 2014 Pac-12 tournament final, as defending conference champion and No. 14 UCLA (8-5) faces off against crosstown rival and the 2014 defending NCAA champion, No. 5 USC (11-2).
On Feb. 22, UCLA’s chances of beating USC looked grim. The Bruins had just recorded a loss against the Baylor Bears, the fifth of the season – a loss that pushed their season loss total beyond those of the previous two seasons. The loss to Baylor also dropped UCLA to No. 21 in the rankings – the Bruins’ lowest ranking in over a decade.
At the time, it appeared as if USC might go the rest of the season without losing. The Trojans had only a couple nonconference dual matches left against teams that weren’t ranked in the top 25 before the start of conference play, and as far as the Pac-12 looked, its toughest competition appeared to be a struggling Bruin team.
Then the improbable happened. USC lost to University of Tulsa, a team that wasn’t even ranked in the top 50.
The Trojans underestimated their opponent by sitting their No. 4 and No. 6 in the singles lineup, causing the lower half of their lineup to move up two spots. However, what was shocking about the loss was that the Trojans’ No. 1 and No. 2 singles lost their matches. The nation’s then-No. 6 and No. 20, Yannick Hanfmann and Roberto Quiroz respectively, lost to players that were ranked outside the top 50.
Flash forward to this week, and UCLA is going into the USC dual match with two confidence-building wins, a 5-2 defeat of Stanford and a shutout win against Tulsa. Mkrtchian said he thinks the Trojans are vulnerable and his Bruin teammates see that. Sell agreed, saying the dual match will come down to the matchups at the bottom of both singles lineups.
“We have been talking (to coach Billy Martin) about who we want to play, who do we not want to play, and it is kind of a tough situation with (sophomore Gage Brymer) coming back for this match,” Sell said. “We don’t know where we are going to play him.”
Sell added that he expects the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 singles players in each school’s lineup will most likely be the same, along with the doubles lineups. As for the bottom half of the singles lineup, Martin said that might have to be a decision he makes right before the start of the dual match.
There is a lot riding on this dual match for the Bruins. A win in this match could catapult them to a good ranking before conference play. A loss could drop their ranking and hurt their chances of hosting the early rounds of the NCAA tournament.
“For us this is a very important match, not just rankings-wise, but there is a lot of pride involved,” Martin said. “That is why this is such a great rivalry. We are always competing for the top spots.”
Last week, the men’s team watched the women’s team fight to beat USC 4-3. They watched senior Chanelle Van Nguyen overcome fatigue and cramps to beat her opponent in a long third set. That night Mkrtchian said he told his teammates that if they play with the same determination and heart, they too can be victorious against the Trojans.
“I sent a text to the guys saying ‘In college, a lot of the times you win through heart and grit than through your tennis,’” Mkrtchian said. “I hope they see that.”