Wednesday, 4/9/97
Bruins reign in struggle with Ducks
Fatigue,
overconfidence may have been contributors
By Hye Kwon
Daily Bruin Staff
On paper, it looked like the top-ranked UCLA men’s tennis team
dominated against Oregon on Tuesday afternoon, notching a 7-0
victory at the Los Angeles Tennis Center. But in actuality, the
match epitomized the concept of the deceptive final score.
The start was just fine for the Bruins (21-1, 8-0 Pac-10), who
cruised out to a sweep of the three doubles matches. Senior Jason
Thompson, who is originally from Salem, Oregon, teamed up with Eric
Lin to put UCLA on the board first.
However, a frustrating start to the singles competition loomed
ahead for the men in blue and gold. UCLA dropped the first set in
three of the six matches, and at the top singles spot, Eric Taino
had to score a 7-5 win in a tiebreaker to tally a set victory.
Not exactly an inspiring home performance by the No. 1 team in
the country playing against a Duck team that had a record of 5-13
coming in.
"We had lost three first sets, and Taino probably should have
lost his too. So it wasn’t looking real good for a while," UCLA
head coach Billy Martin said. "We know that (Oregon) is not a great
team, which doesn’t stir up your competitive juices quite as
much.
"I can’t say I was overly happy but I was kind of somewhat
expecting it. It’s been a long season and I think we’re a little
bit tired."
Fatigue, overconfidence, or whatever else the reason may have
been for the lethargy, a semi-severe storm had to be weathered by
the unsuspecting Bruins to record their 20th consecutive win.
Taino overcame an error-filled first set with a 6-2 win in the
second set against Dougal Williams, and Alex Decret (No. 3 singles)
did likewise with a 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 win over Guillermo Carter. At the
No. 2 singles, Matt Breen and Carlos Navarro engaged in a
groundstroke dog fight for more than two hours before Breen was
finally able to notch the 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 win.
Tuesday’s match may serve as a wake-up call for the Bruins, who
may have been looking ahead to an all important three-match road
trip, starting this Friday against USC, followed by the Bay Area
schools the week after. Then postseason play, which will end up at
LATC in May 17-25, will begin.
"We’re healthy with no serious injuries, and I’m feeling
confident," Martin said. "We’re 21-1 and ranked No. 1 in the
country, and if someone were to ask me in the beginning of the year
that this would be the situation, I would have said ‘great.’
"Especially with the NCAA Championships being here, I think we
have a chance. I’m not going to say that we’re favored by any
means. I just think we’re going into it having a chance."