Monday, 4/28/97 UCLA, Stanford continue fierce rivalry in Pac-10
Championships Tennis: Teams dominate up to semifinal round in
singles, doubles matches
By Mark Shapiro Daily Bruin Staff It was supposed to be little
more than a warm-up for the UCLA men’s tennis team – a chance to
keep loose without affecting the team’s top ranking before its
final match of the year and the NCAA Championships. That was what
it looked like, but this weekend’s Pacific 10 Championships in
Ojai, Calif., an individual tournament, became a representation of
the dominance of UCLA and Stanford, the two West Coast powerhouses.
The predominance of Bruins and Cardinal in the late rounds paid
mute testimony to their ability, as each team had three players in
the quarterfinals, and combined, the two occupied three of four
semifinal spots. In the doubles competition, each squad had both of
its teams intact in the semifinals. Sure, the tournament didn’t
count towards team rankings, but if the fierce rivalry that has
manifested itself this season is any indication, both teams wanted
a position in the finals and one last crack at each other before
the big show. On opposite ends of the singles draw were Stanford’s
Ryan Wolters and UCLA’s Eric Taino, two players whose matches
consistently take on unparalleled significance and seem to always
come at the crucial time. Wolters found himself in the finals as he
ousted USC’s George Bastl, 6-4, 7-5. So, all that Taino needed to
do to get yet another crack at his nemesis was to defeat Stanford
freshman Bob Bryan. Instead, Bryan, Stanford’s Bruin killer this
season with a perfect 3-0 record, came out of the darkness of the
semifinals and ended Taino’s hopes for a matchup against Wolters
with a 6-3, 6-4 victory. In three matches against Bruin opponents
this season, Bryan has yet to drop a set. UCLA’s Kevin Kim , Alex
Decret, and Taino all had berths in the quarterfinal round. Taino
advanced to the semis with a three-set victory over Stanford’s Mike
Bryan, but Decret fell to Wolters, and Kim fell to Bastl . The only
early-round casualty for the Bruins was junior Matt Breen, who fell
in the second round to Patrick Gottesiben of USC. The early exit
will do some damage to Breen’s hopes for an at-large berth into the
NCAA singles championships. In the doubles competition, the team of
Taino and Decret advanced to the finals with a semifinal victory
over the Bryan brothers, while Kim and Eric Lin (third-ranked in
nation), fell to Wolters and Paul Goldstein. * * * The women of
UCLA did not fare quite as well as the men. Freshman Katia
Roubanova was the only Bruin to advance deep into the tourney, and
she was eliminated in the quarterfinals. She was defeated by Karen
Goldstein of the University of Arizona, 7-5, 5-7, 7-5. Christie
DeBeau, Daily Bruin Contributor, assisted with this article.