On Friday, players from Stanford, USC, and Baylor all made the trip to the four-day Sherwood Collegiate Cup in Thousand Oaks, but by Saturday afternoon, there was no question that a Bruin was going to win the title.
Freshmen MackenzieMcDonald and Gage Brymer notched upset victories to join senior Clay Thompson and junior Marcos Giron in the singles semifinals, with Thompson and Giron advancing to the title match. Giron, playing in his hometown, entered that match red-hot, having won his past four matches without dropping a set– it showed as he broke Thompson’s serve twice to take the title 7-5, 6-3.
“I think I took care of the big points well. I didn’t get broken in any of the last matches, and I took care of the key points when it really mattered,” said Giron of his victory. “I came out clutch and didn’t make any silly mistakes – I was really focused throughout.”
The victory showcased the team’s experience and depth. A key component of that depth is UCLA’s highly rated freshman class, who all played very well at the tournament – Brymer defeated teammate Karue Sell in the quarterfinals and Joseph Di Giulio narrowly fell to USC’s Roberto Quiroz.
Perhaps most impressive, however, was McDonald’s quarterfinal victory over Baylor star and No. 2 Julien Lenz. The highly experienced Lenz’s big serve and aggressive style of play did not faze McDonald, who went on to win the match 6-4, 6-4.
“I thought that was a really great win for me, helping me build my confidence,” McDonald said . “I didn’t beat myself down out there, and that allowed me to play the best I could at the moment.”
Coach Billy Martin was also extremely proud of McDonald’s play, citing that he and his fellow freshmen probably benefited most from the experience afforded them by the tournament. However, Martin was not entirely happy with how the team played, citing the Bruins’ inability to advance past the quarterfinal round in doubles play.
In that round, teams made up of Giron and McDonald, Thompson and Di Guilio, respectively, were both knocked off 8-7. Earlier in the season, Martin had cited the team’s doubles play as a key area to improve – he reiterated the sentiment after this weekend.
“We still have some work to do, and probably need to play a lot more doubles (matches),” Martin said. “Thinking a lot more doubles-minded than singles-minded is something we definitely have to do. At the moment, I don’t think our guys are doing as good a job at that as I think they could.”
The good news for the Bruins is that, with the season starting on Wednesday at home against the UC Irvine Anteaters, they’ll get ample chances to get their doubles game off the ground. However, one Bruin will have to wait another week at least to make his regular-season debut.
Giron recently was awarded a wild-card spot in the Royal Lahaina Challenger in Maui, Hawaii, and he will be missing Wednesday’s game to compete in the event.