For the most part, tennis players don’t like to designate
matches as “must win.”
But that’s exactly what senior Tobias Clemens has gone and
done.
And probably with good reason, because the No. 8 Bruins have
struggled mightily of late, losing four of their last five
matches.
It is a disappointing streak that began with a 5-2 loss to
Arizona State on Feb. 20 and has continued to spiral
downward.Â
This weekend will provide a chance to exorcise the demons and
possibly right the ship, as Arizona (8-4) and Arizona State (4-5)
visit the Los Angeles Tennis Center on Friday and Saturday. Clemens
feels the team must win these crucial Pac-10 matches to regain form
and enact some revenge.
“We had a terrible performance (at Arizona State), and we
really have to give some payback,” he said.
UCLA (9-5) had grown accustomed to the feeling of beating the
Sun Devils, as the loss in February was only the Bruins’
second loss to Arizona State since 1967. In that February match the
typically solid Clemens lost in straight sets to Chris Stewart, and
other poor singles performances helped secure the Bruins’
demise.
Only juniors Kris Kwinta and Alberto Francis won their matches
on that day, and their play has been erratic since.
The confidence-level of this team is definitely not what it was
when the Bruins made a surprising run to the finals of the National
Team Indoors in early February, upsetting three highly ranked teams
in the process.
With the same players in the same spots, UCLA simply
hasn’t been able to get it done recently, though three of the
team’s four losses have been to top-10 opponents.
“We all know how to play tennis, but we have all lost our
mental toughness,” Kwinta said.
That’s something UCLA coach Billy Martin touched on after
the team’s latest defeat, a 4-3 heartbreaker Wednesday at the
hands of No. 10 Duke.
“I don’t even know if (the loss) was so much
tennis-wise as mentally,” Martin said.
The Bruin coach has remained upbeat throughout his team’s
struggles, repeating that as players become more seasoned and
comfortable with the college game, the team will be that much
better off.
The current Bruin team has four newcomers to the starting
singles lineup, with only Clemens and junior Chris Lam being the
holdovers from last season’s semifinalist squad. Martin says
this lack of experience has been the cause of the recent
struggles.
“It makes a big difference, having a guy who knows how to
keep his composure and stay positive out there,” Martin said.
“And to not lose sight of what the main goal is ““ to
win the war and not just a few battles.”
The war Martin speaks of is the NCAA Championship.
But to put themselves in that position, the Bruins are going to
need to start winning some battles.
According to Clemens, they simply must.