COLLEGE STATION, Texas “”mdash; It’s impossible to say
exactly what made the difference this time for the UCLA men’s
tennis team against Virginia, but senior Luben Pampoulov seems like
a pretty safe place to start.
A pinched nerve in his neck kept Pampoulov from playing singles
when the Cavaliers defeated the Bruins back in February. But he was
back in his customary No. 1 singles position on Sunday, helping
seventh-seeded UCLA avenge its early-season loss with a 4-1 victory
over second-seeded Virginia in the quarterfinals of the NCAA
Championships.
“I knew that we should have beaten them before,”
Pampoulov said. “Even though I didn’t play singles, we
are the better team. We have the better players.”
The Bruins, who will face third-seeded Mississippi in
today’s semifinals, had been looking forward to a second
meeting with Virginia since the release of the NCAA Tournament draw
earlier this month.
“After we lost to them, I really felt that we had a great
chance to beat them,” UCLA coach Billy Martin said.
Part of the reason for Martin’s confidence was the
knowledge that Pampoulov, the seventh-ranked player in the country,
would be at full strength if another chance afforded itself.
Showing no signs of his previous neck injury on Sunday,
Pampoulov was absolutely masterful.
After teaming with Chris Lam to post an 8-3 victory at No. 3
doubles, Pampoulov cruised to a 6-1, 6-2 victory over No. 13 Doug
Stewart in singles. It was a match where Pampoulov won nearly every
big point and dictated play almost from the outset.
“I was lucky to play well in the big points and to push
him more and more each game,” Pampoulov said. “It was a
mental fight. The result looked easy, but it was a tough
match.”
After winning the first set, Pampoulov refused to give anything
away at the start of the second set. There were at least 15 deuces
in Stewart’s first service game in the second set, and when
Pampoulov finally emerged with a break, his victory seemed
inevitable.
“If you’re looking for me to say that last time they
didn’t play their No. 1 guy at No. 1, certainly that might
have made a difference,” Virginia coach Brian Borland
said.
Even with Pampoulov’s dominating performance, UCLA’s
victory was hardly a foregone conclusion.
Doubles play couldn’t have been much closer, with the
teams splitting on Courts 2 and 3 to set up a showdown on Court 1
for the critical 1-0 advantage.
Trailing for much of the match, Alberto Francis and teammate
Kris Kwinta secured a huge break to even the score at 6-6. After
each team held serve to make the score 7-7, Virginia’s Rylan
Rizza and Nick Meythaler forced the Bruins to battle for their
eighth game.
Francis and Kwinta were able to fight off several Virginia break
points and hold serve, prompting Rizza to throw his racket and
receive a point penalty in disgust.
That momentum was critical, as UCLA went on to break serve in
the next game and win the doubles point.
“It was so perfect,” Kohlloeffel said of Francis and
Kwinta’s win. “That was a great, great help for
us.”
In singles, Pampoulov and Francis rolled to straight-set
victories, while Kohlloeffel was able to fight back from a set down
to clinch the match for his team with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory over
Somdev Devvarman.
“I’m really happy,” Kohlloeffel said.
“It’s the NCAA tournament. I just want to advance. It
doesn’t matter if it’s Virginia or some other
school.”
But it was a little sweeter for some of the Bruins because it
was Virginia, a team that entered Sunday’s match on a
16-match winning streak, and a team that UCLA thought was way too
cocky during their first meeting.
The Bruins vowed that things would be different this time, and
the fact that they were was quite satisfying for them.
“It was sweet revenge,” Francis said.
“There’s no better place to beat a team than the
NCAA championships.”