UCLA men’s tennis at home in So Cal Intercollegiate Championships
By Jordan Lee
Oct. 30, 2013 12:00 a.m.
This week’s So Cal Intercollegiate Championships, which begin today and run through Sunday, figure to be a tale of old and new for the UCLA men’s tennis team.
The host Bruins will have 10 players competing in the tournament, including overall No. 1 seed senior Clay Thompson, who won the tournament two years ago as a sophomore.
Despite being the tournament’s top seed and a former champion to boot, Thompson said he doesn’t feel any added pressure as a result of his track record. Instead he welcomes the opportunity to defend his title and build momentum for the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships in New York next week.
“It’s great to play at home and it gives you a lot of confidence being there. I’m really excited to try and defend my title,” Thompson said. “I think it’s a good opportunity for me to get in a bunch of matches before New York. It’s really just a golden opportunity for me so I just want to take full advantage of it.”
While Thompson boasts a wealth of experience, a number of Bruins will making their home debuts, including Thompson’s doubles partner, freshman Gage Brymer. Brymer, along with fellow first-year players Mackenzie McDonald, Michael Guzman and Joseph Di Giulio, who will be playing on their home court for the first time in anything other than a practice session.
Though Brymer will be experiencing a number of firsts when he takes the court Thursday morning for his opening match, he said that nerves won’t be a factor heading into the tournament.
“I like having home court advantage, because we’ve been practicing on them a lot, so I’m used to them now. I’m feeling better because it’s home,” Brymer said. “It’s my first time playing on these courts, I’m really, really excited to play my first home college match.”
Brymer will have another first when he takes the court with Thompson for the first time in the doubles tournament. Thompson, who will be one of the favorites to capture the singles title, said that in pairing with Brymer, the duo has a “chance to go far.”
Despite it being the freshman’s first time competing in a college doubles match, Brymer said he feels comfortable with Thompson after playing with him in practice and hopes to learn from the seasoned veteran.
“First time playing with Clay and first time playing college doubles actually, so it’ll be a first for both,” Brymer said. “Clay’s a really good doubles player and he knows a lot so I’m hoping to learn a lot from him. It seems like we play really well together, we played a couple practice matches so we should be good.”
Compiled by Jordan Lee, Bruin Sports senior staff.
