Coming off of two solid home wins, the No. 4 UCLA men’s tennis team will look to continue its hot start as national implications have already reached its doorstep.
For the first time ever, the Bruins will host the first two qualifying rounds of the USTA/ITA National Team Indoors.
The results of the qualifying matches this weekend will determine whether the Bruins will go on to participate in the USTA/ITA National Team Indoors on Feb. 13 in Chicago. This event has national title significance as the top teams in the nation square off in this competitive tournament.
The Bruins will need to win two home matches in order to play in Chicago. There are 15 qualifying brackets around the country going on this week, featuring four teams each. UCLA (2-0) has been asked to host its bracket, which includes Southern Methodist University (0-2), Fresno State University (1-0) and University of South Alabama (1-1). By winning both of this weekend’s matches UCLA would move on to the national bracket. Last year, the Bruins lost to top-seeded Virginia in the quarterfinals and have not won the tournament since 2001.
Even though the Bruins are 22-0 all-time against Fresno State, the team has never played SMU or South Alabama and must approach these matches with caution.
“We’ve got a tough weekend ahead with the national qualifying event,” coach Billy Martin said. “I’ve been sort of going online looking at some of their players. … (I’ll) try to get some coaches I know to give me something of a scouting report.”
Though a bit of a mystery to UCLA’s coaches and players, South Alabama still poses a threat, as its team is ranked a respectable No. 72, won the Sun Belt Conference Championship last year and made it to the second round of the NCAA Championships.
While the Bruins’ results so far have not indicated much for concern, there are always small things to fix.
“It’s those little things. It’s nothing really major, but there’re little areas in their game where they’re making too many unforced errors or not getting to the ball, those kinds of things,” Martin said. “This is why these matches are good. They really show us, as coaches, what we can focus on with each individual player and then go from there.”
If the Bruins win their first match today, they most likely will face a stauncher challenge as both Fresno State and SMU are ranked higher than South Alabama. Fresno State is ranked No. 40 followed by SMU at No. 50.
Given their success already this year, a win today will solidify the Bruins’ fast start and prepare the team for the very competitive National Indoors Tournament.