Cardinal can’t defend against Bruin netters

Monday, April 22, 1996

UCLA finishes regular season undefeated with sweep of StanfordBy
Mark Shapiro

Daily Bruin Staff

The numbers say it all for the UCLA men’s tennis team. A perfect
24-0 regular season record, giving them their first undefeated
season in 21 years. A 10-0 Pacific 10 record to clinch their first
Pac-10 title since 1990. The number one ranking in the country, and
perhaps most gratifying of all, three victories over defending
national champion Stanford.

The Bruins wrapped up their regular season by smacking the
Cardinal around the Los Angeles Tennis Center before winning, 5-2,
on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. The day before, UCLA closed out
Cal, 7-0, to set the stage of their showdown with Stanford.

"To beat Stanford anytime for us is really sweet," UCLA head
coach Billy Martin said. "They’ve really stuck it to us for two or
three years so I think it really helps us get some momentum going
into NCAAs."

Last year, it was Stanford which swept the season series on its
way to the national championship. This year it is the Bruins who
have brought out the brooms and become the favorites to win it
all.

"We played a real good team and today we couldn’t do it,"
Stanford head coach Dick Gould said. "There’s no question right now
that they are the established favorites and deserve to be."

In the featured match of the day, UCLA’s Justin Gimelstob,
ranked third in the nation, battled fifth-ranked Jeff Salzenstein.
The result was the same as the other two times they met this year
­ a victory for Gimelstob.

After a dropping a tough first set, Gimelstob rallied back to
win the second, and then behind mounting pace on his shots and
mounting support from a huge LATC crowd, cleaned up in the third
set for the 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 victory.

"I started out playing really well then I lost some intensity,"
Gimelstob said. "That really pissed me off and I came back and
played a great third set. It was really exciting. I mean to have
the crowd that we had out there today was really great."

At the second and third positions, Srdjan Muskatirovic and Eric
Taino both had one of their better outings on Saturday.
Muskatirovic owned Stanford’s Paul Goldstein as he nearly pulled
the second set shutout in a 6-4, 6-2 victory. Taino also put on one
of his best performances of the season, rolling up Jim Thomas 6-2,
6-4.

"This is what we’ve worked for the whole time and it’s good that
we could close it out against Stanford," Taino said. "I’m really
happy with the way that I played. I returned serve really well and
that’s what you have to do against (Thomas)."

Senior Heath Montgomery lost in a third-set tiebreaker to Ryan
Wolters while UCLA freshman Vince Allegre fell at the number six
spot. However, sophomore Matt Breen came up with a huge 7-5, 6-1
pasting of Grant Elliot to close out UCLA’s scoring.

"This is the best weekend of tennis that I’ve had all year,"
Breen said. "I’m concentrating hard and things are going my
way."

Although they have finally closed out their undefeated season,
the Bruins aren’t quite ready to rest on their laurels, for the
NCAA’s are three weeks away.

"It’s nice but it’s not important," Martin said. "It’s a
confidence builder but there’s so many good teams. I’m not worried
about the philosophy that you should lose one and we’re ready to
go."

SCOTT O/Daily Bruin

With the support of the LATC crowd behind him, Justin Gimelstob
beat Stanford’s Jeff Salzenstein.