Players to sharpen skills in preseason tournament

Wednesday, November 18, 1998

Players to sharpen skills in preseason tournament

PREVIEW: Events help to decide men’s tennis team standings,
boost rankings

By Dave Denicke

Daily Bruin Contributor

Several players on the men’s tennis team will be competing in
the Southern California Intercollegiate Championships this week at
the Los Angeles Tennis Club in downtown Los Angeles.

Though the team does not begin match play until Jan. 12, against
Fresno State, these regional tournaments provide valuable
tournament experience prior to the start of the season.

Head coach Billy Martin sees the tournaments as crucial in the
development of the players.

"They’re very important not only to determine a place on the
team, but also in improving their NCAA ranking, and a chance to
qualify for the individual championships," he said.

This week’s tournament marks the third regional to which UCLA
has sent team members. Most recently, seven Bruins competed at
Pepperdine University in the ITA regional championships, with three
Bruins making it to the quarterfinals.

Sixth-seed freshman Zach Fleishman reached the semifinals,
losing to top-ranked Gustavo Marcaccio of Arizona State in a
grueling three-set match, 3-6, 7-6, 7-6. The match drained
Marcaccio so much that after the 9-7 third set tie-breaker,
tournament officials sent Marcaccio to the hospital for
dehydration. The Sun Devil only lasted one set the following day
before defaulting the championship to Pepperdine senior Kelly
Gullett.

Two Bruins to keep an eye on for this week’s regional are
Brandon Kramer and Fleishman. Fleishman and Kramer will potentially
meet in the semifinals.

Martin pointed to a challenge match the two played last week as
"one of the best challenge matches I’ve seen in my fifteen years of
coaching."

Kramer definitely noticed a competitive spirit between himself
and Fleishman.

"There is a bit of a rivalry. It makes players work hard, and
when you can feed off each other it helps you improve," he
said.

Kramer also credits his improvement to a trip to France this
summer with teammate Chris Sands.

"France helped because I got a lot of match play experience,"
Kramer said. "I think I have been a lot more focused than in
previous years and now I am more serious about improving my
game."

While the majority of the team will be competing this weekend,
one Bruin sitting out the regional is returning All-American Jean
Noel Grinda, who won the tournament last year. Grinda hit the hard
courts this summer, playing as an amateur in tournaments across the
country.

His summer was cut short by a shoulder injury suffered after his
first tournament of the season, in which he reached the semifinals.
Grinda lists himself roughly 75 to 80 percent healthy, and expects
to be back at 100 percent before the season starts.

"When I get out there, I am still a bit tentative," he said. "I
have worked on my serve a lot, but I still need to make some
adjustments on my game."

Looking to build on last year’s Top 10 ranking, the Bruins
return four other starters in addition to Grinda.

Last season, the Bruins tied for second place in the Pac-10 and
tied for fifth place at the NCAA championships, but UCLA hasn’t won
the crown since 1984.

"The goal this season is to shoot for and win the NCAA
championships," said Grinda.

Comments, feedback, problems?

© 1998 ASUCLA Communications Board[Home]