M. tennis down, out of individual competition
By Daily Bruin Staff
May 23, 1996 9:00 p.m.
Friday, May 24, 1996
Drained after emotional loss in team final, No. 1 Gimelstob,
Taino fall in first roundBy Mark Shapiro
Daily Bruin Staff
In the aftermath of their upset loss to Stanford University in
the finals of the NCAA championship, three members of the UCLA
tennis team had to pick themselves up and prepare for the
individual championships, which began the next day.
Justin Gimelstob, Srdjan Muskatirovic and Eric Taino all had to
gird themselves for another day of battle after a disappointing end
to their respective careers.
The effects of the loss in the championship were ever-present in
first-round play, as Gimelstob, who entered the draw as the
favorite to take the individual crown, fell 6-3, 6-2 to Phil Cooper
from Wichita State, who wasn’t ranked in the top 100.
"I just wasn’t ready to play, it was too disheartening,"
Gimelstob said. "I just couldn’t get over it, I’ve never been that
disappointed in my life. To lose like that, I couldn’t get over
it."
On most any other day Gimelstob would probably make short work
of a player that wasn’t ranked in the top 100, but on this day, in
an individual tournament that had lost its meaning, it just wasn’t
there for him.
"I’m number one in the country, he’s nothing in the country,"
Gimelstob said. "On a given day, I could beat him. The individuals
never meant anything to me, but I put myself in a position to not
play my best tennis because I was so emotionally spent. The guy was
eager to play and I wasn’t."
Even with the disappointing end to the season, Gimelstob denied
rumors that he will return next year to seek another shot at the
title, stating simply, "I won’t be back next year."
Junior Eric Taino also saw his run for the title come to a
premature end, as he lost in the first round to John Roddick of
Georgia, 6-2, 7-6.
As he will likely forego his senior season to turn professional,
Taino’s UCLA career ended in disappointing fashion.
The lone bright spot for the Bruins team in the singles
competition was the play of Muskatirovic, who staved off a
first-round sweep with a 6-3, 7-6, victory over Victor Fimbres of
Kansas.
Muskatirovic and Gimelstob, who come in the top-ranked doubles
team in the nation, will be the lone UCLA duo in the doubles
competition.
SCOTT O/Daily Bruin
Top-ranked Justin Gimelstob lost his final match as a Bruin.
