Tuesday, 5/13/97 Bruins prepare for championships M. TENNIS: No.
1 UCLA strives to capture first national title since 1984
By Mark Shapiro Daily Bruin Staff With the NCAA Men’s Tennis
Championships ready to kick off May 17th at the Los Angeles Tennis
Center and Sunset Recreation Center, the official draw was
released, with the UCLA men’s tennis team at the No. 1 spot. The
Bruins (23-3) will open their quest for their first title since
1984 with a 2 p.m. first-round match this Saturday against
Northwestern University. The match will be played at LATC. As the
No. 1 seed, the Bruins would be assigned one of the bottom four
seeds. With the choices of either Fresno St, Harvard, UCSB or
Northwestern, UCLA got the draw it wanted, based simply on the fact
that they have not faced the Wildcats this season. "Of the teams I
saw that I thought we could have to play, that was one of the teams
I was hoping we would draw," UCLA head coach Billy Martin said.
"Fresno St. is good, I’d hate to have to play them for a third time
this year. UCSB I know is good. I’d like to play someone who hasn’t
played us, who isn’t used to being at UCLA." The Wildcats finished
their season with a 20-6 record and an unblemished 10-0 record in
the Big Ten. They played their way into the tournament via regional
action, topping Indiana, Illinois and Minnesota to claim the Region
V Championship and an automatic berth. "I know nothing about them,
I’m just assuming they had a great regional," Martin said. "I don’t
think their year has been outstanding. There’s no easy teams
anywhere in the tournament." After having played on the road in the
NCAA tournament for 32 years, the Bruins will have the comfort of
home on their side, a fact that Martin is hoping will ease the
early-round jitters and take away the unfamiliarity of foreign
soil. "The first round is always a little tough because you’re not
used to the surroundings and the nerves and everything," Martin
said. "I’m hoping playing at home will bring a little less of those
first-round jitters. The home court advantage is as important as
anything." With the tournament kicking off in five days, the team
has likely only four practices left. While it would like more, the
team is ready for a big start against Northwestern. "These next
couple days of practice are still important to us," Martin said.
"I’m in no hurry for the tournament to start. This is part of our
building-up strategy and (we’re) getting stronger as the days go
by. Come Saturday, we’ll be ready to shoot out of the gates." JON
FERREY Eric Taino and the UCLA men’s tennis team get their first
NCAA tournament action Saturday against Northwestern.