M. tennis aims for top spot against No. 1 Stanford, Cal
Bruins looking to avenge indoor loss to the Cardinal
By Sarah Harrison
The UCLA men’s tennis team has a chance to prove that it belongs
at the top, as it hosts Stanford, the No. 1-ranked team in the
country, Friday at 1:30 p.m., followed by No. 27 California at noon
Saturday. Both matches will be played in the Los Angeles Tennis
Center.
"Stanford is one of the absolute best this year, so we are
expecting a really hard match," UCLA head coach Billy Martin
said.
The last time that the No. 4 Bruins met Stanford was in the
semifinals of the USTA/ITA indoor tournament in February. UCLA
started strong, winning the doubles point, but the Bruins only won
one singles match, as Heath Montgomery beat Jim Thomas 7-6, 3-6,
6-3. The Bruins, however, did not make Stanford’s 5-2 victory as
easy as the score implies, as they took four of the singles matches
into three sets.
"We were in it every bit of the way," Martin said. "Hopefully we
will get a little payback after the loss in the indoor
tournament."
The Cardinal comes into the match with a perfect 16-0 record.
They are led by junior Jeff Salzenstein, who is ranked sixth in the
nation and has a 13-3 dual match record. Stanford also has three
other nationally ranked players on their squad, namely No. 25 Scott
Humphries, No. 36 Paul Goldstein, and No. 46 Jim Thomas.
"We are going to have to perform at our very best," Martin said.
"Winning is definitely not out of the realm of possibility. As our
basketball team has shown, if there’s a will there is a way."
The Bruins (11-4 overall) have some ranked players of their own,
specifically Robert Janecek, who moved up in the rankings to No.
16, and Eric Taino, who is now No. 34.
There was a scare that Justin Gimelstob might not be able to
play. Gimelstob, a freshman who has been playing No. 2 doubles and
has recently moved up to the No. 2 single spot, sprained his wrist
during the match against USC’s Adam Peterson on March 16. He was in
a cast for 10 days due to the injury, but now seems to be getting
his old strength and form back.
"We were worried it was broken, but it turned out to only be
sprained," Martin said. "He is starting to play good tennis, and
will be ready for the weekend."
Everyone is going to have to be ready, since they do not have a
break after the match against Stanford. The Bruins host Cal on
Saturday, who may be lower down in the rankings but still a
formidable opponent.
The Bears have a 9-3 record. Cal lost to Stanford by only one
point in their first home loss of the season on April 4, and the
Bears upset No. 17 Arizona State 4-3 April 1. The win over the Sun
Devils included Cal’s No. 1 player Michael Hill beating the No. 1
ranked player in the nation, Sargis Sargsian.
"Win or lose on Friday, we have to be ready to bounce back and
play well on Saturday," Martin said.