Outside, there were dozens of banners hanging off
streetlights.
Inside, there was a packed stadium, 550 volunteers, and some of
the best amateur tennis the region had to offer.
The only thing missing was the meaning.
Billed as one of the most prestigious tennis tournaments in the
state, Ojai has lived up to its name in many regards.
At the junior level, it continues to attract the top talent in
the Southern California section. With 36 divisions and 38 local
sites used for the event, it has maintained its grandeur and
popularity among fans.
But Ojai’s marquee division, the Pac-10 Championships,
highlights the tournament’s glaring weakness.
And it was UCLA, geographically the closest school in the
conference to the event, that brought that flaw to light again this
past weekend.
With a 32-player singles draw and a 16-team doubles draw, Ojai
is essentially individual in nature.
It just so happened that UCLA’s top two individuals on the
men’s and women’s side weren’t competing.
Although tournament organizers keep track of a team’s
record and give a trophy to the winning school, that title carries
little weight since the Pac-10 declares its champion based solely
on regular-season results. The individual winners might gain a
sense of pride and accomplishment, but those titles pale in
comparison to what comes next.
“It is important, but what’s more important are the
regionals and NCAA’s,” UCLA women’s coach Stella
Sampras Webster said.
Rather than play in this tournament sandwiched between the end
of the regular season and the NCAA Tournament, top-ranked Bruins
are gaining a reputation for taking an extended layoff, using the
added time to rest, recover, or train in other capacities
instead.
Last year, it was Tobias Clemens and Jackie Carleton. This year,
it was Daniela Bercek, Riza Zalameda, Benjamin Kohlloeffel and
Luben Pampoulov.
The absence of the elite players was largely confined to UCLA
this year, largely reflecting the cautious, forward-looking
approaches of Sampras Webster and men’s coach Billy
Martin.
“Because of the pressure of the NCAAs, the tendency is to
pull players out at the slightest injury in order to protect
them,” said a tournament spokesman, who did not wish to be
identified by name.
“It is a legitimate claim.”
It’s also a frustrating one for the tournament organizers.
On the night before matches were scheduled to start, coaches were
still adjusting the women’s singles draw because of players
who dropped out late.
These last-minute changes may not drive fans away, but it does
diminish the event’s importance.
“People were really looking forward to seeing the UCLA
guys playing and it is a disappointment,” the spokesman
said.
“It does sort of hurt the reputation to advertise their
names in press releases and then they can’t play.”
It’s hard to fault the Bruins for not playing when
there’s no bearing on the team as a whole.
Since the NCAA draw is created regardless of the conference
tournament results, the incentive to play in Ojai is strictly
personal.
Last year, Bercek injured herself in the conference tournament.
It can’t be too big a surprise that she didn’t want to
risk the same thing again this year.
“Nina’s been playing a lot and been playing really
well,” Sampras Webster said.
“She’d rather just have a little break and get ready
for regionals.”
Bercek and other players feel that time off is more valuable
than match experience at this point.
They’re just as motivated by the prestige of a
championship trophy, but the tournament that provides them with it
isn’t in Ojai.
E-mail Finley at afinley@media.ucla.edu if you had Sam
Warburg and Nicole Leimbach going all the way in your Pac-10
bracket pool.