At this point in their schedule, before they’ve faced any conference rivals or perennial national powers, the No. 4 UCLA men’s tennis team sees their most dangerous opponents in the teams that have the element of surprise in their favor.
Their next challenger appears to have the potential effect of a ticking time bomb.
The Bruins (1-0) are set to host No. 37 Boise State (3-0), but they have no misconceptions about the level of competition that will be waiting for them on the courts of the Los Angeles Tennis Center today at 1 p.m.
The Broncos have started their season off on the right foot, already notching two wins this week on their road trip through southern California. Most surprisingly, they upset No. 14 Pepperdine by a 6-1 margin last Saturday, which set off all the Bruins warning sirens.
“I think it’s going to be a tough match,” coach Billy Martin said. “I knew this was a good team, but they really put a whooping on Pepperdine at their place. I think that just shows us that we’ve got to be ready for a tough battle.”
When Boise State visited Westwood in the early stages of last season, UCLA swept them, 7-0, but the victory did not come easy despite such a lopsided final score. The Broncos took four sets in the six singles matches that day.
This year’s version of the Boise squad will look much different, however, as many of their players were lost to graduation. But although this 2009 team may be young, they have shown signs of strength. This, in addition to the natural target on the back of any school as consistently successful in tennis as UCLA, gives the match the potential to be a battle.
“I think they’re a lot tougher this year than last year,” senior Michael Look said. “They’re not here to muck around; they’re here to take it to us.
“I think they really want to get their season started with a good win against UCLA, so I think it will be a lot more intense than last year. I think they will be here to compete.”
Boise State is led by senior Clancy Shields who was rated the No. 1 player in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s Mountain Regional rankings and No. 22 in the nation overall. That is 45 spots higher than the Bruins’ highest ranked player, Matt Brooklyn, coming in at No. 67.
“This is (Shield’s) fourth year playing,” Martin said. “We’ve banged against him a lot, so I feel comfortable that we know him pretty well.”
Alternatively, UCLA’s strength lies in its depth. With the addition of junior transfers Brooklyn and Amit Inbar into the starting lineup ““ both of whom played No. 1 at the respective schools from which they transferred ““ most likely every player that will get playing time in today’s match has significant college tennis experience.
And with this comes the ability to return even the tricky shots.
“They’re going to be out here on the back of that big Pepperdine win,” Look said. “They’re going to be real fired up and high on a lot of confidence that they think they can beat us.
“I think if we come out here and match them with that intensity and take the doubles point, I think that will demoralize them a little bit. Hopefully, they’ll go away after that.”