M. tennis settles old score

M. tennis settles old score

Bruins pound Waves to avenge last season’s disappointing
defeat

By Mark Shapiro

Daily Bruin Contributor

In Roman times, the emperor Caligula once ordered his legions to
charge into the Mediterranean Sea and kill the waves.

Well, history repeated itself several hundred years later at the
Los Angeles Tennis Center as the second-ranked UCLA men’s tennis
team destroyed the Pepperdine Waves 7-0, thus avenging last
season’s defeat and solidifying their standing as one of the
nation’s top teams.

"I thought it would be closer, but I knew that UCLA would be
awfully good," Pepperdine head coach and former UCLA coach Glenn
Bassett said. "Their first three guys are awesome and I knew they
had a lot of depth. They’re a really solid team, maybe as good as
(top-ranked) Stanford. They were ready to play today and they gave
us no mercy."

In the first true test of the No. 2 Bruins this season, UCLA
(5-0) came away glowing after having passed with flying colors.

"It’s fantastic," UCLA head coach Billy Martin said. "We
certainly didn’t expect to win it 7-0. The guys just played so well
and that was a good team. We knew they were a good team."

Bassett’s assessment of the Bruin lineup was about as accurate
as any other adjective, for UCLA was at the top of its game
Tuesday. No. 1 Justin Gimelstob, behind his heavy serve and
attacking style, came up with a decisive 6-2, 6-2 defeat over the
defensive Simon Aspelin. No. 2 Srdjan Muskatirovic also continued
his hot play as he posted a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Chris Hill.

The most impressive victory of the day came at the No. 3
position, as Eric Taino continued to obliterate his opponents. The
unlucky soul this time was Brad Sceney, who fell 6-0, 6-1.

"The guys in the front three played fantastic, especially Eric
Taino," Martin said. "I don’t think I’ve seen him play better in
singles and doubles."

The bottom three had a bit of a tougher time in pulling out
their victories, but managed to come through. Junior Jason Thompson
came up with a grueling three-set victory over Masahide Sakamoto.
After dropping the first set 6-2, Thompson rallied behind his
massive serve to win 7-6 (10-8) 6-4.

Matt Breen also came up with a gritty victory, handing Michael
Jessup his first loss of the year. Jessup, who usually plays number
three, fell to the powerful Australian 7-6 (7-4) 6-2.

Perhaps the biggest victory of the day came at No. 6 as
co-captain Heath Montgomery rebounded from a slow start this season
to beat Troy Budgen, a player who had feasted on UCLA before, 7-6
(7-4) 4-6, 6-1.

"Coach makes a big deal about winning three-set matches, and
beating a player who had given us trouble in the past really feels
good," Montgomery said. "It gets my confidence up and it gets the
team’s confidence up. That’s the most important thing."

The Bruins also took the doubles point behind the rejuvenated
play of the No. 2 team of Thompson and Eric Lin, and the dominance
of Taino and Breen. The lone blemish on the day, which proved
unimportant, was Gimelstob and Muskatirovic’s loss at the No. 1
position.

FRED HE/Daily Bruin

Jason Thompson gritted out a tough three-set victory
Tuesday.

Comments to [email protected]