Wednesday, 4/16/97 Key Stanford win puts UCLA squad atop
competition Undefeated in Pac-10 play, Bruins remain at No. 1 slot
in Rolex’s latest team ranking
By Mark Shapiro Daily Bruin Staff The UCLA men’s tennis team
maintained the mantle of the top-ranked team in the nation in the
latest Rolex Collegiate Tennis Ranking. The Bruins (22-1, 8-0
Pacific 10) stayed on top of the polls on the impetus of their
21-match winning streak and their defeat of two-time reigning
national champion Stanford two weeks ago. UCLA’s average points per
match result of 55.41 far outdistanced second-ranked Georgia’s
average of 47.75. At No. 3 was Mississippi State, fourth was
Mississippi, and fifth was Stanford. Boise State, the only team to
beat the Bruins this year, was sixth. While no Bruin held down the
top spot in any of the individual rankings, UCLA was still very
well represented in the polls. Leading the way in the singles
rankings was senior Eric Taino, who rose to the ninth spot. Taino,
who won his first 15 matches of the year, has rebounded from a
four-match losing streak to capture his last four matches,
including a victory over No. 12 Ryan Wolters of Stanford. Freshman
Kevin Kim was the next Bruin in the pack, as he came in at No. 29,
having dropped three spots from his previous rank of 26. In his
first season, Kim has posted a 17-4 dual match record. Just six
spots below Kim is junior Alex Decret. Decret slipped from 32nd to
the 35th spot in the rankings. Since his move to the second singles
spot for the Bruins, Decret has gone 11-5 in dual matches. Junior
Matt Breen became the final Bruin to crack the top 50, as he
slipped in at 49, having tumbled from his previous position at 37.
The Bruins had two of their doubles teams land in the top 50, with
the team of Kim and Eric Lin holding the third spot, just one-tenth
of a point away from the second spot. They moved up one slot from
No. 4. The team of Taino and Jason Thompson came in at No. 36,
having also moved up one spot.