Injury leads to defeat in quarterfinals

By Dave Denicke

Daily Bruin Senior Staff

ATHENS, Ga. ““ When Brandon Kramer slipped and fell in
practice last week, the fracture went beyond his right wrist. That
fall put a large fissure in UCLA’s armor at a time when it
was needed most.

Heading into the NCAA finals, Kramer’s injury broke the
Bruin men’s tennis team’s spirit as well, evident in a
4-1 quarterfinal loss on Sunday to Tennessee.

“We knew with Brandon out, there was a possibility we
could lose,” junior co-captain Jean-Noel Grinda said.
“We didn’t play with the same level of
confidence.”

The deflated Bruin ego was evident in singles, where Pac-10
freshman of the year Jean-Julien Rojer was steam-rolled by last
year’s national freshman of the year, Peter Handoyo, 6-1,
6-0. And it was evident in doubles as well, as Jong-Min Lee and
Chris Sands were unable to come back from a 7-5 deficit against
Mark Parsons and Adam Carey, who won that match 9-7 and in so
doing, clinched the doubles point that Tennessee head coach Michael
Fancutt said was all-important.

“I’ve said before that if we win the doubles point
that we are a hard team to beat,” Fancutt said after the
match. “It gives us momentum and puts us in a great position
to win the match.”

But Lee, who was ranked second nationally in doubles with
Kramer, wasn’t impressed with the Volunteers’ doubles
team, despite their win.

“I don’t know how we lost the doubles,” Lee
said. “They were not a good doubles team.”

Lee also mentioned the Volunteers’ strategy of staying
back on both first and second serves, which is highly
unorthodox.

“I’ve never seen guys do that. But it was
effective,” he said.

In singles, Tennessee put the Bruins away by winning at the No.
3, 4 and 6 spots, which UCLA head coach Billy Martin said the
Bruins had to fare well in to take the match.

“I knew we would be in trouble at Nos. 3, 4 and 6 after
losing the doubles point,” Martin said. “I knew we
would need to win one of those matches and we
didn’t.”

Kramer’s injury may have contributed to that predicament,
as the team’s usual No. 3 player, all-American Grinda, was
forced to move up to Kramer’s No. 2 spot and Rojer took the
third spot, only to be demolished by Handoyo.

Filling Kramer’s spot in the competition, it was
Sands’ match at the No. 6 spot that clinched the match for
the Volunteers. Mark Fitzpatrick battled back from a set down and
took the third 6-2 to win it.

“I’ve always dreamed of winning a clinching match at
NCAAs since I have been in college and today it was nice to finally
get a chance to do that,” Fitzpatrick said.

How did the Vols manage to upset the nation’s
second-ranked team, even without Kramer? The answer, Martin said,
was clear.

“Tennessee was just a little bit too good for us
today,” he said. “That’s a great team we played
and even had we been full force we would probably have had trouble
with them. The better team won.”

The loss ended Lee’s collegiate team career, though he
will still compete beginning tomorrow in the national singles
championships. In his college career, Lee has gone through a lot,
from having to overcome personal battles to becoming the
Bruins’ No. 1 singles and doubles player.

“It’s been a long ride ““ I just want to bring
it to an end,” Lee said. “I’m looking forward to
getting the singles started, but at the same time I want to get it
over with.”

But while the sun has set on seniors Kramer and Lee, next season
looks bright for Martin’s squad.

“I anticipate us being a formidable team next year,”
said Martin, who returns six players with NCAA experience.

“Hopefully we’ll be back in Athens next year to try
and get this darned tournament,” he added.

Since 1977, UCLA has posted a 57-21 mark in NCAA tournament
play, including three national titles, the last coming in 1984.