Bruins take top spot, but players don’t fare as well

Bruins take top spot, but players don’t fare as well

By Mark Shapiro

Daily Bruin Staff

By virtue of a 14-0 record and the capturing of the National
Indoor Championships, the UCLA men’s tennis team moved to No. 1 in
the nation in the latest Rolex Intercollegiate Rankings. The Bruins
took reign from Stanford University, which had held sway at the top
spot since the beginning of the season.

UCLA, who defeated the Cardinal at the National Indoors, took
350 votes to Stanford’s 343. Rounding out the top five are:
Georgia, Mississippi and Texas Christian University.

Along with the top ranking in the country, the Bruins take on
the bull’s-eye that comes with having every team in the country
gunning for you. After spending the first part of the season at No.
2, however, UCLA is used to being the marked man.

"We were a big target at No. 2, so there’s no real difference,"
UCLA head coach Billy Martin said. "Everyone will know that we are
a good team."

Even though the Bruins have now supplanted Stanford in the
rankings, their focus still remains on the national championship.
The team is well aware that the feeling which comes with the top
ranking in March doesn’t compare with being No. 1 in May.

"It’s nice, but it’s not the thing that we’re looking for,"
Martin said. "The thing that we’ve got to prepare to do is win in
Georgia (site of the NCAA championships)."

* * *

The individual rankings came out along with the team rankings,
and they were not as friendly to UCLA. The highest-ranked Bruin was
sophomore Justin Gimelstob, who broke in at 14th. The undefeated
Gimelstob’s ranking is curious in that he has already defeated
several of the players ranked ahead of him, namely No. 4 Roger
Pettersson from UNLV and Jeff Salzenstein from Stanford.

UCLA’s Srdjan Muskatirovic also landed in the top 100, at 39th.
This ranking is not the best representation of Muskatirovic’s
undefeated record either, but very little stock is placed on these
rankings.

"I don’t worry about it, it doesn’t matter," Muskatirovic said.
"The team ranking is much more important."

Junior Eric Taino, who is also among the ranks of the
undefeated, debuted at 62, which is exceptionally low for a player
who has yet to drop a set, let alone a match. Taino, who reached
the quarterfinals of the Palm Springs Invitational earlier in the
season and defeated 10th-ranked Frederick Giers in straight sets
two days ago, was equally as jaded about the rankings.

"You can’t put any trust in those rankings," Taino said. "I know
that I’m not the 62nd-ranked player; I don’t feel like that at all.
I just have to keep playing and that will take care of itself. I’m
not going to pay any attention to that."

* * *

Gimelstob, who missed two dual matches before Saturday, was away
at an Association of Tennis Professionals tour event in Scottsdale,
Ariz. Gimelstob, who entered the tournament as the 436th ranked
player in the world, put on a run as he played his way into the
quarterfinals.

After beating Karol Kucera in the first round, Gimelstob pulled
off the upset of the tournament, beating the eighth-seeded and
31st-ranked Jonas Bjorkman 2-6, 7-5, 6-2, to earn a berth in the
quarterfinals.

"I had trouble putting my serve in," said Gimelstob, who had six
double faults to go with five aces. "I served well in the third set
and that was the key. I’m so excited to get through."

Gimelstob’s run ended in a three set loss to top seed Wayne
Ferreria, but along with the thrill, his ranking got a boost. When
the new rankings come out, Gimelstob will be in the 290s after only
three professional tournaments.

FRED HE/Daily Bruin

Playing in only his third professional tournament, UCLA’s Justin
Gimelstob made it to the quarterfinals of a recent tourney.

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