Coach will scope out players, opposition at Cup

  KEITH ENRIQUEZ/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Senior
Jean-Noel Grinda will be playing along with the
rest of the Bruins at the Sherwood Collegiate Cup this weekend.

By Greg Schain
Daily Bruin Contributor

Nine members of the UCLA men’s tennis team will play in
the Sherwood Collegiate Cup at the Sherwood Country Club in Los
Angeles this weekend. The tournament is one in a series of warm-up
events leading up to the Pac-10 season, which UCLA opens on Jan. 26
against Arizona.

Head coach Billy Martin says this tournament is a good way to
see where his players belong as he begins molding his lineup for
the season.

“I need to see who is playing well now,” Martin
said. “This is the only fair way.”

Martin has a difficult job ahead of him as he makes the starting
lineup for the upcoming season. There are eight men fighting for
only six singles spots, and whoever is left off the lineup will
most likely have sparse playing time.

“It’s a very tough decision,” Martin said.

Going to the tournament are seniors Jean-Noel Grinda and Chris
Sands, junior Derrick Nguyen, sophomores Jean-Julien Rojer, Lassi
Ketola, Travis Rettenmaier and Erfan Djahangiri, and freshmen
Marcin Matkowski and Tobias Clemens.

All of these players realize what is at stake as the countdown
to the preseason nears its end.

“This is very (important) for us,” Djahangiri said.
“Everyone is trying to do his best.”

Going into last season, the team was mired with injuries. But
this year, there are no major medical problems among any of the
players.

“We are in a lot better shape than we were last
year,” Martin said.

Conditioning is an integral part of tennis and an important
reason for players to compete in the Sherwood Collegiate Cup. The
tournament allows players to test their stamina in actual match
play.

“We get to see who is in shape and who is not,”
Djahangiri said.

Another aspect of this weekend’s tournament is that it
gives players a preview of the competition they will meet in
dual-match play during the season. Stanford, USC, Cal and
Pepperdine, all future opponents, will be at this weekend’s
tournament.

“I’m really excited about it,” Martin said.
“It’s a chance for me to see players from other
teams.”

This weekend for Martin is a starting point for the most
important stretch of the team’s schedule.

“This will be a great indication of who is ready to step
in,” he said.