Driving roughly 280 miles overnight from Seattle, Wash. to Eugene, Ore. to play back-to-back away matches, the UCLA men’s tennis team proved that it can perform well under less-than-ideal circumstances.
After defeating the Washington Huskies 4-1 on Friday, the Bruins made a four-hour drive to Oregon to defeat the Ducks 4-0 on Saturday. The matches marked the start of conference play for UCLA, which now holds a 2-0 record in the Pac-12.
The Bruins got off to what coach Billy Martin called a “shaky start” against the Huskies after losing the doubles point for the match. But from then on, it was smooth sailing for UCLA, as the team swept Washington in singles play.
After the win over the Huskies, the Bruins loaded up in cars and vans to make the trip to Oregon to take on the Ducks, who hold a respectable 14-3 regular-season record.
Despite many miles of travel on the road, and an early wakeup to make their 11:30 a.m. match, UCLA showed up ready to play; the team won the doubles point against Oregon, then swept the Ducks in singles just as they had done to the Huskies.
“I think Oregon is a very solid team,” Martin said. “I was concerned that we were going to have to play very well to win, and luckily we did.”
The matches were crucial wins for the Bruins, who will only play five more in-conference matches this season before the Pac-12 Championships.
UCLA looks to continue its conference win streak with back-to-back home matches against Cal and Stanford Friday and Saturday.
Compiled by Sam DeMello, Bruin Sports contributor