Several hours after the biggest win of his coaching career, UCLA
men’s tennis coach Billy Martin finally found some time to be
alone and check the voice messages on his cell phone.
And as he sat in his quiet hotel room, listening to over 80
congratulatory messages from friends, former players, opposing
coaches, and others, the initial shock started to wear off.
“To genuinely hear their happiness for me and my team was
special, more than anything,” Martin said.
It had really happened. His team had really pulled a miraculous
come-from-behind victory over No. 1 Baylor in the national
championship. After 21 years and numerous chances, UCLA was finally
bringing the championship trophy back to Westwood. And on a more
personal note, the monkey was finally off Martin’s back. In
his 12th season as the Bruin head coach and his fourth time in the
NCAA final, Martin had at last climbed over that final hump to win
the title. Now he won’t have to listen to the doubters any
more.
“I feel relieved because certainly there was some doubt in
my mind,” Martin said. “You hear some of your skeptics
saying, “˜Yeah, they always do well, but we just don’t
think Coach Martin can do it.’
“That hurts, there’s no doubt about it. Then you
start to doubt yourself and wonder if there’s something
you’re not doing to get your team to win that last match or
two.”
And now, in the final analysis, Martin isn’t sure what
made this season different from others in which he had equally
talented teams.
It appears that this season, the pieces simply fell into place
at the right time. And the people closest to Martin couldn’t
be happier.
“When I was there for the individual tournament, he was
smiling all day long,” sophomore Ben Kohlloeffel said.
“You could see that it really meant something to him, and
that’s just great that we could do it for him.”
Assistant coach Jason Sher, who has been at UCLA for six
seasons, has said that he has never met anyone as competitive as
Martin. Tough losses bother a competitor, and that’s one
reason that this victory makes Sher so happy.
“There’s no coach at UCLA who deserves a title more
than Billy,” Sher said. “Every year, he’s come so
close, and for him to finally win it, he’s very deserving. It
was going to happen. It was just a matter of time.”
But it took a long and relatively painful time. In all 12 of
Martin’s seasons as head coach, UCLA has advanced at least as
far as the NCAA Quarterfinals. Prior to this year, the Bruins had
suffered three losses in the final and five semifinal setbacks. It
was difficult for Martin to avoid the “best coach not to have
won a title” moniker. Now he’s simply the coach that
has most recently won a title.
“Especially after not getting it for so long, it’s
an incredible experience and a wonderful feeling to think that we
finally accomplished our total goal,” Martin said.
Though a championship is the team’s goal every season,
Martin remains steadfast in his assertion that he prefers the path
to the end result.
Winning the championship has afforded him the chance for that
reflection.
“After giving the losses and the win a lot of thought, the
hunt is what’s so special to me,” Martin said.
“It’s certainly more fun winning than it is losing, but
I still love coaching. I love working with my players. I love our
togetherness and what I would call my Bruin family.”
That’s why Martin became teary-eyed when he was listening
to his phone messages. Over half of them came from former players
whose lives Martin had touched, and who have also touched his
life.
“It’s not the winning of the championship
that’s causing me to enjoy it,” Martin said.
“I’m here because I enjoy coaching. I love UCLA. My
players are special to me.
“To know that we’re a part of a family and a
tradition is fulfilling in my life. That’s truly what makes
it rewarding for me.”
The championship, then, is primarily validation for the hard
work that so many people have put in over so many years.
“I felt especially warm for winning this for my players
who never got a chance to win it,” Martin said. “That
probably was the most memorable thing for me.”
The question now is where the UCLA program goes from here. After
becoming known as the traditionally great program that just
can’t win a title, the Bruins redefined themselves this
season. They will enter next year as the defending champions, and
Martin is already excited.
“To get a few more people back on the bandwagon would be
fun,” Martin said.
Martin’s ambitious goal is to make the UCLA men’s
tennis program self-sufficient. It bothers him that they always
have to take money from the athletic department.
The path to self-sufficiency begins with donations, and Martin
feels like winning the championship certainly hasn’t
hurt.
On the court, UCLA will lose four seniors, meaning that next
year’s team will have a very different make-up than this
year’s championship squad.
“It’s a new year, and we have to prove ourselves
again, because victory doesn’t last,” Kohlloeffel said.
“I can see Billy saying that in the team room when we come
back in September.”
But every single Bruin may come back a little bit more relaxed
in September. The monkey is gone. Talk of curses is out the window.
Martin is no longer the winner who loses when it really matters.
And the Bruins are champions.
“Now that we’ve tasted victory, we might be a little
hungrier to taste it again,” Sher said. “Now there
won’t be that much added pressure from the outside.
“When you least expect it, it might come. Maybe when we
don’t have the best team, we may surprise
ourselves.”
Martin couldn’t have expected his team to roar back after
falling behind 3-1 to defending-champion Baylor. He must have
looked at the court and thought that the scene looked all too
familiar. The memories of standing there and watching another team
celebrate are tough to forget.
But this season, UCLA was that team. And for Martin, the wait is
over.
“It’s still kind of a numbing feeling when we really
think about it,” Martin said. “I keep remembering back
to that last match and the last point and everybody running out and
the excitement. I guess it is still somewhat surprising, in some
ways.”