Tobias Clemens thinks the UCLA men’s tennis team is
missing something.
After a shocking loss to unheralded Arizona State last weekend
and a subsequent tumble from No. 2 to No. 9 in the polls, the Bruin
senior believes the team has lost some respect in the eyes of the
rest of the country.
Today marks a chance to start earning some of that back, as No.
3 Baylor visits the Los Angeles Tennis Center.
“You have to earn your respect,” Clemens said.
“And right now teams might not have that much respect for us,
because we don’t have that many veteran players.”
The current UCLA team (9-2) is a far cry from the squad that
reached the NCAA semifinals last season, returning only two
starters in singles.
Baylor (7-1), on the other hand, returns five of six starters
from its team that reached the NCAA quarterfinals last season. One
of those five is Benedikt Dorsch, currently ranked No. 1 in the
country.
“Dorsch is probably the top guy in college tennis,”
UCLA coach Billy Martin said. “Day in, day out, he’s as
good as it gets.”
A strong, physical player, Dorsch will likely present the
toughest competition to date for Clemens, currently ranked No. 5.
Dorsch will also allow the Bruin All-American to enter a role he
typically doesn’t get to play.
“It’s nice for me, because finally I can be the
underdog again when I step on the court,” Clemens said.
The match will also mean a little bit more to both players
because they both grew up in Germany.
“I want to make sure I can beat him, so I can get the No.
1 German ranking,” Clemens added with a smile.
But rankings aside, this is a huge match for the entire Bruin
team. Martin feels like Baylor is probably the best team in the
nation, and the Bears will serve as a great indicator of where UCLA
stands.
“If we’re fortunate enough to get to the semifinals
or the finals in May, I certainly think this would be one of the
few teams that we’d be playing,” Martin said.
The Bruin coach feels the Baylor lineup is as solid
top-to-bottom as any lineup in the country. Junior Benjamin Becker
(No. 8) and Dorsch likely represent the best one-two combination in
the nation, and they are supported with talent and experience at
the other positions.
“Every time I watch these guys, they’re great
competitors,” Martin said. “They’re always in
great physical shape. Their coach (Matt Knoll) does a great job
having his guys be really, really physical, meaning that they can
go hard from the first point until the last point.”
In order to win, UCLA will likely have to play its best match of
the season, and maybe even get a little bit of help. Junior Chris
Lam, who recently fell from No. 18 to No. 61 in the rankings, will
be looking to snap his three-match losing streak in the
process.
The streak reached a low point with two terrible showings in
Arizona.
“Everyone put the Arizona trip behind them,” Lam
said. “It’s over, it’s a tough trip. It’s
no real indication of how we are as a team.”
Or so they hope. If the Bruins put on another performance like
they did in the loss to the Sun Devils, a 7-0 defeat could be in
the cards.
“In the Baylor match, everyone has to be fired up,”
Clemens said. “If some players take things for granted, like
we did in Arizona, we’re not going to be that
good.”
With reports from Colin Yuhl, Bruin sports senior
staff.