It’s very rare that a week after the UCLA men’s
tennis team plays Stanford on the road that the Bruins face an even
tougher match the next week. But such is the case today, when the
team faces No. 4 Pepperdine at the Los Angeles Tennis Center at
1:30 p.m. in a matchup of Southern California rivals. “We
played against very competitive teams over the weekend, but
Pepperdine is just as much of a challenge, if not tougher,”
UCLA coach Billy Martin said. Although UCLA leads the all-time
series 38-13 against Pepperdine, the Bruins are four spots below in
the rankings. Even more, the Bruins are also coming off a split to
the Bay Area schools last weekend. “They feel they have a
chance at the NCAA title this year, and they will be eager to beat
us,” Martin said of the Waves. Pepperdine counts four seniors
on its roster, which makes for an experienced team compared to the
relatively young Bruins. The Waves (8-0) present a stronger
challenge than anything the Bruins (4-1) have faced at home this
season. “Our doubles are doing very well, but I know their
top four singles players will be very tough to defeat.”
Martin said. Friday’s match will be revealing for the Bruins,
especially in how they will rebound from Saturday’s loss to
the Cardinal. In that match, the Bruins lost in dramatic style as
the No. 6 singles spot, sophomore Jeremy Drean, battled back but
eventually gave way to the victorious point on a 7-5, 6-4 score.
“I cannot say any of the players are feeling down from the
loss.” Martin said. “Jeremy felt that he did not play
as well as he could have, but it was the first time he found
himself in this position, and as I said before, he will learn a lot
from this.” One of the few things Martin would like to
duplicate from Saturday’s game is the Stanford game’s
loud home crowd. Today’s match against the Waves is at home,
and Martin looks to press his advantage there. “We try to
promote our events, but it is tough in Los Angeles, as there is so
much sports going on.” he said. “But it would really
help if the student body and Bruin fans could come.” With
Pepperdine only a few miles away from Westwood, Martin believes
that supporters of the Waves will probably make the trip. The last
time the two teams met was at the 2004 NCAA Championship, when the
Bruins beat the Waves 4-0 in the second round.
LINEUP: Regarding the lineup and considering
this season’s results, the UCLA doubles teams should remain
as they are, Martin said. The No. 1, 2 and 3 singles spots have
been solidified by junior Benjamin Kohlloeffel, freshman Haythem
Abid and sophomore Mathieu Dehaine, respectively. The remaining
three spots, though, are still open to competition, as Martin does
not think any given player has broken away from the pack, except
maybe one exception. “Chris Surapol has been playing very
well, so he might possibly move up.” Martin said. Junior
Chris Surapol has yet to lose a singles match this season,
recording 4-0 at the No. 4 spot and 1-0 at No. 5.
CLUB TENNIS: UCLA’s club tennis team will
look to defend its title this weekend when it hosts the Southern
California Campus Championships. Last year the Bruins fielded two
teams at the event, with both squads qualifying for nationals after
placing first and second. If the two Bruin teams get past USC,
Pepperdine and a handful of other local schools this year to
advance to the finals, they would earn a pair of berths to the
national tournament in Austin, Texas, this April.