David and Goliath
By Daily Bruin Staff
April 20, 1995 9:00 p.m.
David and Goliath
on deck for tennis
By Sarah Harrison
The David and Goliath story has a pointed lesson the UCLA men’s
tennis team could follow when they travel north this weekend. If
the Bruins focus too much on defeating top-ranked Stanford, they
may find themselves felled by the determined little guy,
17th-ranked California.
In a Jimmy Johnson-like fashion, Cal head coach Peter Wright
predicted a win over the Bruins. And UCLA head coach Billy Martin
wants his team to take it seriously.
"We can’t overlook Cal," Martin said.
The Bruins will play the Bears today at the Hellman Tennis
Center in Berkeley. UCLA will have to adjust to the courts, which
are faster and windier than those at the Los Angeles Tennis
Center.
"We are going to use our home-court advantage," Wright said.
"The guys have been preparing a lot and working hard for this
weekend, so I think we have a really good shot. We will give UCLA a
hard time."
The last time these teams met, the Bruins prevailed, 5-2.
On the other hand, Stanford is the formidable "giant" that no
one has been able to overcome, as evidenced by its perfect 19-0
season.
Stanford knocked UCLA out of the USTA/ITA indoor tournament in
Kentucky on Feb. 25. The Bruins came close to redemption in
Westwood on April 7, losing the tie-breaking match to give Stanford
the 4-3 win.
"I think we match up pretty well against Stanford," Martin said.
"We showed that we can compete with them when we played them
earlier. The guys are looking forward to going out and maybe
getting some revenge."
Stanford, however, is wary of the Bruins and will do everything
that it can to remain on top.
"UCLA is as good as any team in the country and we are looking
forward to playing them,"Stanford head coach Richard Gould said. "I
hope we are healthy and ready to play because we have to be at our
best to win."
In the USTA/ITA tournament UCLA’s Eric Taino was out with the
flu, and in the regular season Heath Montgomery was unable to play
due to a wrist injury, so this will be the first time a healthy and
complete UCLA team will play the Cardinal.
Scott Humphries will play in the No. 2 spot for Stanford. Justin
Gimelstob has been playing the No. 2 spot for UCLA, but he lost to
Humphries in the tournament. Taino, however, beat him 6-2, 6-2, in
their last meeting; he may assume the spot for Saturday’s
match.
