No. 2-ranked men’s tennis meets Arizona State today, Arizona
Saturday
By Mark Shapiro
Daily Bruin Contributor
At least their basketball teams have some talent.
The Arizona tennis teams, however, leave something to be
desired, which is good news for No. 2 UCLA. The undefeated Bruins
match up against Arizona State at 1:30 today in the Los Angeles
Tennis Center and follow up against Arizona on Saturday
afternoon.
"I think it’s good for us to get a couple matches in a row just
to see what its like to play a tough match and get up the next
morning and have to do it again," UCLA head coach Billy Martin
said. "We haven’t done that yet and that part I like."
Arizona State has been able put together a few nice victories
this season. However, its lineup lacks the firepower to match up
with the second-ranked Bruins.
Arizona comes in ranked 25th in the nation behind a 4-1 record.
The Wildcats will rely on their No. 2 and 3 players, Tom Haugland
and Chris Jenkins, who are both undefeated on the year. The pair
provides the ‘Cats with a one-two punch in the bracket.
The Bruins will again be without the services of Justin
Gimelstob, who advanced to the second round of the Sybase Open in
San Jose behind his 6-4, 6-2 stomping of Nicholas Perriera. He
faces Richey Reneberg in the second round with a possible
third-round matchup against Andre Agassi looming.
"I think we can win both these matches with or without him,"
Martin said. "This will only build his confidence for when he comes
back."
Junior Srdjan Muskatirovic will assume the top spot on the
ladder with junior Eric Taino moving up to the No. 2 spot. Matt
Breen will man the third post, followed by Jason Thompson, Heath
Montgomery, and Vincent Allegre.
"If someone doesn’t win I want to know why," Martin said. "These
are good teams but nothing like a Pepperdine or the teams we’ll
play in Louisville. We’re at our home courts and if these guys
don’t expect to win here, we’ve got a problem."Comments to
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