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Ready or not, Pepperdine is Bruin bait prior to NCAA’s

By Daily Bruin Staff

May 4, 1997 9:00 p.m.

Monday, 5/5/97 Ready or not, Pepperdine is Bruin bait prior to
NCAA’s Players hone skills on cross-town rival before
championships

By Mark Shapiro Daily Bruin Staff This should be one of the big
matchups of the year. Cross-town rivals – perennially tough
competition – with the NCAA Championships right around the corner.
Anytime Pepperdine comes to town, it’s a big-time duel. Trouble is,
the UCLA men’s tennis team doesn’t seem to care one little bit.
When the two teams square off today at 5 p.m. at the Los Angeles
Tennis Center, the match will be little more than an afterthought
in the minds of the top-ranked Bruins. With the NCAA tournament
draw announced and with UCLA garnering the No. 1 seed, there just
isn’t that much to play for until the tournament, Pepperdine or no
Pepperdine. This match is being viewed as a time-killer until the
NCAA Tournament begins at the LATC on May 17. "I can’t say I’m even
caring about whether we win or lose," UCLA Head Coach Billy Martin
said. "I’m looking at (the match as having) no importance." With
their last dual match over two weeks ago and almost two weeks to go
until the NCAA championships, today’s match is little more than a
tune-up for the Bruins, with the results having no bearing on
UCLA’s postseason position. "I only scheduled it because I wanted
something between the last Stanford match and the (tournament),"
Martin said. "I don’t think (it) would be a good idea to go almost
a whole month without playing a dual match. This will kind of
refresh our memory, get us back in tune. It’s a good warmup for the
NCAA’s." In this, their final regular season dual match, the
top-ranked Bruins will be led by senior Eric Taino, who is ranked
tenth in the nation. Junior Alex Decret, ranked 37th, and freshman
Kevin Kim, ranked 34th, will round out the top three. The bottom
three singles spots will again be up for grabs as nagging injuries
may hold players out of the lineup. Sophomore Jason Cook has been
nursing a sore wrist while sophomore Vincent Allegre looks to be
fully recovered from a sore ankle. Joining these two in the mix
will be junior Matt Breen, who comes in ranked 51st in the nation.
In the doubles competition, both Kim and senior Eric Lin will hold
down the top spot. The duo, ranked second in the nation, is 24-10
on the year. JUSTIN WARREN/Daily Bruin Kevin Kim will be among the
top-ranked players to play against Pepperdine.

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