Bruins defeat Arizona; stumble against ASU

Tuesday, February 2, 1999

Bruins defeat Arizona; stumble against ASU

MTENNIS: Grinda rises as UCLA falls to Sun Devils for first time
in 19 years

By Dave Denicke

Daily Bruin Contributor

This weekend’s trip for the UCLA’s men’s tennis team started out
with a bang in Tucson, but the Bruins had a devil of a time in
Tempe against Arizona State.

In their conference opener, the Bruins dominated their third
straight dual meet, winning 6-1 against No. 45 Arizona. UCLA’s
depth proved too much for a Wildcat squad with no players ranked in
the top 100.

Jean-Noel Grinda played especially well, winning not only his
singles match but in doubles as well. The sophomore All-American
started off with Jong-Min Lee and won the top doubles match, 8-3,
against Pascal Salasca and Jean-Noel La Coste. Grinda also took
down Arizona’s top player, senior Adnan Novo, 6-1, 6-2.

On Saturday, however, UCLA faced Arizona State, ranked No. 17 in
the nation. The match started on a positive note for the Bruins as
they swept the doubles competition for the opening point. UCLA then
surged ahead 2-0 thanks to Brandon Kramer’s straight set win over
Ed Carter, 6-2, 6-2.

But the Bruins stumbled afterward with sophomore Chris Sands
posting the only other Bruin victory.

"Kramer played very well the whole weekend … and Chris Sands
has improved as much as anybody from last year," said coach Billy
Martin.

"We started off with the best doubles we’ve played all year. We
did not have a good match, but we still had chances."

The tournament came down to the No. 3 singles match, pitting
UCLA’s Jason Cook against Arizona State’s Alex Osterrieth.

Osterrieth took the opening set 6-4, but Cook rallied back in
the second, 6-2. Osterrieth broke Cook early in the third set,
though, and never looked back, taking the deciding set 6-2 before
the home fans.

"The crowd was rooting against me," said Cook. "Every time I’d
tie my shoe wrong, they were yelling at me."

UCLA’s loss to ASU was the first in their 19-year history,
spanning 48 dual matches. The loss drops UCLA to 3-1 overall, 1-1
in conference.

Today, UCLA returns to action as they take on New Mexico at
home.

New Mexico is where Jason Cook called home his freshman year,
but following a coaching change, Cook transferred to UCLA.

"It’ll be a lot of fun," said Cook. "It should be good to see
Pepe (Caballero), because we’re still friends."

Last season, New Mexico posted a 12-13 record and is currently
ranked 56th. Doubles competition starts at 1:30 p.m. at the Los
Angeles Tennis Center, followed by singles competition.DANIELA
DECCA

Jean-Noel Grinda will play an integral role in today’s match
against the New Mexico Lobos.

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