Men’s tennis goes

Men’s tennis goes

one up on Trojans

UCLA takes lead in series, 74-73, with 5-3 victory over USC

By Sarah Harrison

Surrounded by maroon and gold, records of past USC Pac-10 and
NCAA championships, and jeering Trojan fans, the UCLA men’s tennis
team stepped onto the courts of the David X. Marks Tennis Stadium
donning blue and gold.

There is no question what this particular match was about ­
it was the age-old rivalry renewed, with the series between the two
schools even at 73 apiece.

And on Friday afternoon, the Bruin netters defeated their Trojan
rivals on their home courts 5-3. That makes it 74-73, UCLA, in the
series.

The cross-town rivals began their dual-match with the doubles.
UCLA’s tandem Justin Gimelstob and Eric Taino seemed to have given
up, as USC’s Adam Peterson and Lucas Hovorka won game No. 7 to make
the score 6-1.

In game No. 9, UCLA decided to turn things around and make a
comeback. Gimelstob was tagged in the back with a cross-court shot,
and UCLA retaliated by winning the game. The Bruins won the next
four games, making the match a close 7-6, however, the winning
stopped there, as the Trojans broke Gimelstob’s serve to win the
match.

Meanwhile, on court No. 1 Robert Janecek and Eric Lin broke
Manuel Ramirez and Kyle Spencer in game No. 12, and then went on to
serve for the win. UCLA’s Heath Montgomery and Matt Breen soundly
beat Brett Hansen and Fernando Samayoa 8-4, which gave the Bruins
the two matches they needed to take the doubles point.

UCLA would need to win three singles matches to win the
dual-match, and, at first, this seemed a daunting task for the
Bruins. On the No. 1 court, Janecek was unable to beat
fourth-ranked Hansen, losing in two sets, 6-0, 5-7. Gimelstob,
however, was able to avenge his 3-6, 7-6, 7-6 loss to Peterson,
from the last time that they met on March 16.

Gimelstob broke Peterson’s serve in game No. 8, and then went on
to win the first set 3-6. He dropped the second set 6-1, but
refused to give up so easily in the final set. All eyes
concentrated on court No. 2, as Gimelstob came back from a two-game
deficit to tie it at 4-4. The partisan crowd grew wild, and
Gimelstob got more vocal. He won his serve and continued on to
brake Peterson, preventing him from even scoring another point.
Then, turning and facing the crowd, he let out a primordial scream
to the crowd.

"Winning feels great, especially after what happened last time,"
Gimelstob said. "The fans were really obnoxious, and it feels great
to take them out on their own turf."

Taino, on court No. 3, hustled to win the tie-breaking game
against Hovorka, in the first set. The second set proved to be a
long and tiring one, but one in which Taino was able to persevere
and win 6-2.

"I had a lot of chances," Hovorka said. "I had a lot of break
points, but I wasn’t able to convert any. If I had a break, I could
have won the second set. (Taino) was playing well, and he was
definitely more aggressive. He was hitting harder, and eventually I
got overpowered on the baseline."

UCLA’s Breen was also having troubles, as he couldn’t fend off
USC’s Ramirez attack. He lost in two sets and then watched Ramirez
turn to the crowd and flash two fingers in the air in victory.

However, UCLA would get the last laugh. Lin clinched the Bruin
victory in the No. 5 spot, beating Samayoa in three sets.
Montgomery added sweetness to the win for UCLA, as he beat Spencer
on a secluded court outside of the tennis stadium.

"Playing out there provided more neutral territory," Montgomery
said. "It helped a lot because my teammates were out there cheering
for me, so I think it made a difference."

While the Bruins came away with a win, it was neither the finest
display of tennis by the Bruins, nor a decisive victory, because
USC was threatening the entire time.

"We didn’t play tremendously well," UCLA head coach Billy Martin
said. "What I really like is that we fought. Three of the matches
that we won, we were down. We hung in there and sometimes you have
to do that. It is easy to win when you are playing great tennis,
but it is harder to win when you are down and you have to finish
strong."