Runnin¹ Rebels meet their match in Bruins

Monday, February 3, 1997

M. TENNIS:

UCLA warms up for their Pepperdine game by smashing UNLVBy Mark
Shapiro

Daily Bruin Staff

It’s one of the biggest matches of the year. It’s a measuring
stick for the UCLA men’s tennis team against another foe ranked in
the Top 10, and it will be the Bruins’ first away match this
season.

The date is set for one of the nation’s biggest rivalries and
the courts at Pepperdine are calling.

With all of this on their minds, the UCLA men’s tennis team went
into action this weekend against … UNLV?

Yep, before the second-ranked Bruins (3-1) get ready to take on
the Waves, they had to do battle against the 31st-ranked Runnin’
Rebels, a team that they have never lost to in seven previous
meetings.

In a match that was something of an afterthought in light of
Tuesday’s upcoming duel in Malibu, the Bruins tallied their fourth
victory of the year, 4-3 over UNLV.

Any worries about the Bruins looking past the Rebels were put to
rest in the top three singles matches. At the top spot, Eric Taino
took on seventh-ranked Luke Smith, his toughest foe of the year to
date.

No matter, for Taino came up with a 6-2, 6-7, 6-0 victory on
Court Central.

"(Smith) is the best player that I’ve had to play," Taino said.
"I felt really comfortable playing at that level. That was the best
match so far."

After a tough second set, in which he rallied back from a 5-2
deficit only to fall in the tiebreaker, Taino completely dissected
Smith in the decisive set, winning it in about 20 minutes and
leaving his opponent smiling and shaking his head as he returned to
his teammates.

"I didn’t give too many free points away," Taino said. "I
thought that I played better than him the whole way, so I was just
a little more confident going into the third."

Junior Matt Breen came up with a straight set victory at No. 2
singles, and freshman Kevin Kim rolled to a 6-2, 6-0 victory at No.
3.

The bottom three singles matches gave a slightly different
impression. Alex Decret, Brandon Kramer and Jason Cook all lost in
three sets.

The doubles competition encapsulated this enigmatic play
perfectly, as UCLA’s top pair of Kim and Eric Lin lost, while the
second and third teams both won, securing the doubles point for the
Bruins.

GENEVIEVE LIANG/Daily Bruin

Junior Matt Breen