After losing the doubles point against Stanford, coach Billy Martin had a lighthearted message for the team.
“I really would have been worried about winning this match had we won the doubles point,” Martin told the players.
The comment referred to the fact that the UCLA men’s tennis team beat Stanford all four times last year in spite of losing the doubles point on every occasion.
[Related: UCLA men’s tennis topples Stanford despite injured, ill players]
Yet underneath the comic relief Martin was trying to provide, the Bruins have a recurring issue – subpar doubles performances.
In all three matches at the International Tennis Association Division I National Men’s Team Indoor Championship, UCLA dropped the doubles point. It managed to overcome the setback against USC, but lost to Virginia in the quarterfinals and California in the consolation match.
[Related: Men’s tennis to focus on doubles after losses at ITA National Indoors]
Junior Austin Rapp discussed the importance of the doubles point before the team headed off to Tulsa, Oklahoma, in preparation for the ITA National Indoors.
“The difference between getting three singles points and four is enormous,” Rapp said. “Against the top teams, its tough to go out and have the pressure to get four singles.”
Entering singles play with the lead can also give a psychological advantage.
“The doubles game is huge,” said freshman Evan Zhu. “With the momentum, you feel a little more confident in the singles.”
This was evident for Rapp and senior Gage Brymer in their matches against Stanford.
After suffering a 6-1 loss in doubles with freshman Ben Goldberg, Rapp dropped the first set in his singles match before eventually regaining momentum and winning 1-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Similarly, Brymer lost his doubles matchup and proceeded to drop the first set in his singles match. He managed to regroup and win the second set in a tiebreaker. Sophomore Maxime Cressy, Brymer’s doubles partner, wasn’t as fortunate and lost in straight sets 6-2, 6-3.
There are several reasons for the Bruins’ doubles troubles.
Before the Stanford dual match, Cressy said that new lineup combinations could be beneficial.
“Coach is very superstitious. We don’t like trying out new combinations,” Cressy said. “But I lost several times with Gage. I don’t think our games match up very well. I feel like playing with someone else will help.”
The Cressy and Brymer combination is currently on a four-game losing streak.
Another complication is senior Joseph Di Giulio’s arm injury.
Usually, Di Giulio pairs with Rapp on court two, but his injury has forced Cressy and Brymer to move up from their usual court three to court two. Goldberg has been inserted into the lineup to pair with Rapp on court three.
The partnership hasn’t been successful, winning just one out of four games. Despite the short-term results, Martin was pleased with Goldberg’s performances.
“He did a good job,” Martin said. “We threw him in the lion’s den against top teams. I was pretty happy with his performance.”