Over the course of the season, the No. 7 UCLA men’s tennis team has had to call on many of its players to step up a level, taking on the duties of teammates who seem to be falling left and right. And even with a 10-match winning streak to close out the regular season, recently the Bruins (17-4) have made that call deeper into the roster than they expected.
Freshman Eugen Brazdil was the latest to fill that need and this last weekend he showed why the Bruins are the deepest team in the conference.
For four days in Ojai, UCLA joined its conference competition at the Pac-10 Championships, a tournament that allows athletes the chance to step outside the normal restrictions of the collegiate dual match format and compete both by themselves and in pairs for individual titles.
Brazdil did not take this opportunity lightly. Making it to the finals of the singles Invitational draw, Brazdil was also a last-second addition to the doubles Championship draw, paired with senior Michael Look after sophomore Nick Meister dropped out due to illness.
“He’s certainly improved,” coach Billy Martin said of Brazdil. “And I think it showed in the tournament, not only in the singles, but especially in the doubles, where I think I was even more surprised and more happy for him to be able to compete at that level with some very good wins against some tough opponents.”
Brazdil has not seen much action in his first year in Westwood, and it would have been even less if so many of his teammates had not been sidelined by injuries and other complications. He currently resides at eighth on the depth chart, which isn’t promising in a college sport where six players compete and there are no in-game substitutions.
“I think it was a big adjustment for him,” Martin said. “Coming from Slovakia and not knowing really what the heck to expect and then getting here and seeing that the level of play was pretty high, I think it was a bit of a shock.”
But even with such little playing time, Brazdil has shown the necessary qualities for a clutch bench player. After beating his first ever singles opponent in dual match play earlier this month against Oregon, he racked up a 3-1 record at the Bruins’ No. 3 spot in doubles as well.
“I’ve gotten really good experience watching most of the matches,” he said. “I was always ready to play and when I got a chance to, I think I did a really good job.”
This was certainly the case at the Pac-10 Championships. Playing singles in the tournament’s invitational draw for players outside the conference’ top 32, Brazdil won three straight matches before eventually being dropped in Sunday’s final by Daniel Nguyen, a regular in No. 8 USC’s starting rotation.
In doubles, Brazdil and Look were inches away from an upset title victory but were edged out 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(2) by Stanford’s top duo of Ryan Thacher and singles champion Bradley Klahn.
“I think we are really good doubles partners even though we played together for the first time,” Brazdil said of teaming with Look. “I think it worked out very well.”
Although once team play resumes with the NCAA Regionals in two weeks, it is unlikely Brazdil will get any more chances this season. Despite this, his performance in Ojai signals a bright future for the young lefthander.
“He knows we’re going to lose a couple guys next year,” Martin said. “I think he feels that certainly his chances are going to be a little bit better in the years to come if he keeps working hard and staying positive.”
BRUINS TO HOST REGIONAL: The NCAA announced its seedings for the national tournament Tuesday afternoon. The UCLA men received the No. 7 overall seed, which means the Bruins’ own Los Angeles Tennis Center will host the first two rounds of the tournament on May 8 and 9. Their first opponent will be Southern Illinois, with the winner facing either Oklahoma State or Hawai’i. The team to advance out of the Bruins’ region will join 15 other teams in College Station, Texas, to determine a national champion. UCLA lost in the semifinals of last year’s tournament to the University of Texas.