The No. 9 UCLA men’s tennis team might just be the only group of people on campus this week who aren’t desperately looking for a break from their work. After beating Hawai’i on Wednesday, 6-1, the Bruins (9-4) are rolling, but will leave the court empty for awhile as the players focus on UCLA’s final exam week.
“After playing pretty well today, it’s kind of annoying that we have a break,” junior Matt Brooklyn said. “And I love to play, so it’s kind of frustrating. But it’s a long season, so a week and a half off from matches is probably going to do us well.”
The way the Bruins’ schedule was structured provides for quite an abrupt return once the break ends.
“I really don’t like (the break’s timing),” coach Billy Martin said. “And I don’t like it because of the important matches that are coming up right after the break: Stanford and Cal.”
Playing the Bay Area schools has traditionally made for a difficult road trip and Martin does not want his team to be rusty, especially for when it faces the No. 2-ranked Cardinal. To combat this, Martin inserted matches against UC Irvine and Pepperdine in the week normally slated for rest to make sure his team was prepared to play.
“We start practicing Friday after finals and go right through the weekend,” he said. “These guys won’t have a spring break. They won’t get Saturday or Sunday off. That’s unfortunate for them, but in our sport, that’s what you’ve got to do. And we’ll get that match on Tuesday (against UCI) and head on up to take on that tough Stanford team.”
Despite the stress looming on their calendar, the Bruins dispatched the Warriors (1-5) with relative ease. For the first time in three matches, UCLA swept the doubles point to open the day on a positive note. UCLA went on to clinch by taking four of the six singles matches in straight sets, including Brooklyn’s 7-6, 6-0 victory on Court Two.
“A lot of times you win that tight first set and one person either goes way up or way down,” Martin said of the match. “I think the other kid kind of lost heart and Matt just hung in there.”