The UCLA men’s tennis team moved two steps closer to accomplishing one of several season goals, with its aim set on capturing a fourth consecutive conference title.
The Bruins (15-3, 4-0 Pac-10) shut out Arizona State and Arizona 7-0 over the weekend to maintain a perfect record in Pac-10 play.
Though the Sun Devils and Wildcats aren’t the caliber of teams that challenge the Bruins, as UCLA is 60-0 against Arizona and holds a 62-2 all-time edge over Arizona State, the victories were crucial in continuing to help the team build confidence at a crucial point in the season.
The team’s toughest stretch of conference play looms around the corner with upcoming matches against Cal, Stanford and USC to close out the regular season.
“It’s very important right now for us to keep our level up and not lose concentration,” sophomore Haythem Abid said. “If we want to beat the good teams, it starts now with how we prepare.”
The Bruins have undoubtedly changed the way they have been preparing ever since a disappointing 6-1 loss to crosstown rival USC, although it did not count against their conference record.
The defeat showed the team just how close their competition would be this season from a Trojan squad that struggled to hang with the Bruins just a season ago.
“We were feeling pretty good about ourselves at that stage entering the match,” sophomore Michael Look said. “But having that loss shows us that everyone’s right there next to us.”
Thus, as UCLA enters the final stretch of its regular season dual matches, the team has been determined to work on its weaknesses in practice as it strives to peak at the right time before heading into the NCAA Championships.
“Everyone just sees the goal at the end of the line and everyone is stepping up and putting in that extra effort so we can do well at NCAAs,” Look added.
KOHLLOEFFEL EYES RECORDS: Senior Benjamin Kohlloeffel tied UCLA’s record for singles victories at the No. 1 position on Saturday against Arizona when he defeated No. 89 Claudio Christen 6-2, 6-1.
The win was Kohlloeffel’s 51st at the top spot in the lineup, a mark that tied Tobias Clemens, who also holds another record that the current Bruin can potentially make his own.
From 2001-2004, Clemens recorded 119 singles wins and Kohlloeffel is close behind with an impressive 117.
WOMEN’S TENNIS: The UCLA women’s tennis team split its matches against Arizona and Arizona State, as they lost 4-3 to the No. 25 Sun Devils before beating the Wildcats 5-2 after squeezing out the doubles point in a tie-breaker on the top court.
Against the Sun Devils, the match was decided by a retirement by Bruin freshman Yasmin Schnack in the third set. Schnack did not play against Arizona in UCLA’s next match of the trip.
Senior Alex McGoodwin was also missing from the Bruins’ lineup for both matches as sophomore Anna-Viktoria Lind filled in the No. 6 position due to the void caused by McGoodwin’s absence from the roster.