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Climbing the ladder

By Daily Bruin Staff

Feb. 14, 1996 9:00 p.m.

Climbing the ladder

Despite undefeated record, junior Eric Taino stays at No. 3
singles

By Mark Shapiro

Daily Bruin Contributor

The season is almost halfway over, and so far junior Eric Taino
has been nothing but the hottest member of the second ranked UCLA
men’s tennis team.

Thus far, Taino has taken his game from the solid level it was
at last season to a new plateau that plants him squarely among the
nation’s elite.

In six dual matches this year, Taino is undefeated. In fact, he
has yet to drop a set and most notably, you can count the total
number of games he has given up on two hands. Against UCSB, he
posted a double bagel. Against seventh ranked Pepperdine, he
surrendered only one game.

"This is the best tennis I’ve seen him play," UCLA head coach
Billy Martin said.

Coming from the man who has guided Taino’s development for three
years at the collegiate level, these words are not to be taken
lightly.

The transformation that has taken Taino to this higher plane has
been a sequence of mental growth and tennis acumen that has
accelerated his play.

"All it is is that I have a good attitude," Taino said. "If you
do everything properly and you prepare, you should be fine."

Over the summer, Taino spent his days slugging it out as an
amateur on the professional satellite circuit. From the midwest to
the West Coast and then on to Portugal, Taino found himself facing
top-notch competition day in and day out.

"That was another level," Taino said. "It strengthens you
mentally more than anything else."

It was this daily grind that turned Taino into a player who last
year showed flashes of this talent, but mainly grinded out
workmanlike, unspectacular wins with a few losses here and there.
There was never any consistency in his level of play and it became
hard to know which Taino would show up. One day, he was trouncing
Stanford’s number two 6-1, 6-2, and the next time they met, he was
on the opposite end of a beating.

After his rigorous summer, Taino has been able to turn his
spectacular play into a mundane, everyday event that no longer
comes as much of a surprise.

"Last year I could do it off and on, but not as consistently,"
Taino said. "Late last year I did it a little bit but this year I
feel a bit more balanced, I don’t have as many weaknesses and I’m a
lot better mentally."

This newfound mental awareness has allowed Taino to fall into a
standard routine from which he doesn’t deviate.

"Each match is a bit different," Taino said. "When I played the
guy from Pepperdine, I didn’t expect to beat him zero and one. You
want to use the same sort of routine in a match. If you do that,
these things will come by themselves."

Taino has also taken his all-court game and turned his
weaknesses into strengths. A forehand that had troubled him in the
past is now a reliable offensive weapon. Stodgy footwork that
hampered his movement has turned into flowing court coverage, and
volleys that were inconsistent have become a penetrating force.

"He’s moving better, his shot selection is better," Martin said.
"He’s definitely volleying better, and his backhand is a pro-level
shot."

Of all the specialty shots his teammates possess, there is none
more devastating than Taino’s huge two-handed backhand. This is a
shot that Taino turned to when he first picked up a racquet and it
has been a security blanket of sorts. An opponent will think he’s
got the upper hand when Taino suddenly turns on a backhand and
pounds a clean winner.

"It’s what I depend on," Taino said. "If anything is going wrong
I can always depend on that. I know how to make adjustments and I
just look forward to hitting it."

With all of his stellar results, there has been only one
frustrating element for Taino – the fact that he’s playing at the
No. 3 singles position. With the transfer of All-American Srdjan
Muskatirovic and the play of number one Justin Gimelstob, Taino has
been placed at the third position on the ladder, a ranking which
doesn’t reflect his play and has left him a bit dissatisfied.

"I’m a little bit disappointed, but I’m not going to use that as
a negative," Taino said. "Things will work out the way they are
going to work out, I can only worry about myself."

With Taino pushing to move up the ladder by virtue of his play,
he has also helped to keep those playing above him on their
toes.

"It serves notice to the guys playing ahead of him," Martin
said. "Those guys feel the pressure. He deserves to move up but
it’s hard for me to move him up when Srdjan is winning just as
handily and Justin too. If someone slips up, it’s justification to
move him up. That might be as much of a guiding force for them to
win as much as the guy on the other side of the net is."

The fact is, in collegiate tennis there are a precious few
players at the No. 3 position who can play at Taino’s level.
Certainly, the Stanfords and Georgias pose a tougher challenge, but
most of the players he will face are not of an equivalent caliber,
as the scores Taino has posted attest to.

The idea of simply mailing in a match and not really pushing
himself against weaker opponents is something that has come up for
Taino before, but he works hard to make sure it doesn’t become a
problem again.

"That’s exactly what I don’t want to do," Taino said. "I did it
a bit last year and a little bit my first year. It’s just a cycle
that you get used to and I don’t want to do that."

Taino has settled into his role knowing that he will be an
essential ingredient come NCAA tournament time, whether he’s at No.
1 or No. 3.

"(The championship) is very important and I’d like to leave on
that note," said Taino, who will leave school next year to join the
pro tour. "We know what it feels like and it’s gotten kind of
boring, it feels like we’ve stopped there. I definitely want to win
it this year."

SCOTT O / Daily Bruin

After spending his off-season playing against professional
competition, Eric Taino has taken his game to another level, and is
undefeated in dual-match play in 1996.

Comments to [email protected]

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