M.tennis: UCLA faces No. 11 Kentucky in National Team tourney
By Jessica Jue
Feb. 4, 2004 9:00 p.m.
Last Friday’s emotional 4-3 victory over USC saw the UCLA
men’s tennis team do something it hadn’t done all
season: scratch, claw and fight for a win. The Bruins, more
motivated now than ever before, now plan to put their rackets to
the test against the nation’s best at the USTA/ITA National
Team Indoor Championships in Seattle.
Sixth-seeded UCLA’s arduous road begins today against No.
10 Kentucky, a team the Bruins defeated in the first round of last
year’s Indoor championship.
The tournament will present a change of pace from what UCLA
(4-0) is usually accustomed to, in most part due to the faster and
accelerated indoor courts at the Lloyd Nordstrom Tennis Center on
the University of Washington campus, as well as at the Seattle
Tennis Club.
Unfortunately for the Bruins, practicing at an indoor court is
not a feasible option in Los Angeles. But despite their lack of
practice time on such facilities, coach Billy Martin is not overly
concerned.
“I’m not worried about it,” Martin
said. “I know Tobias (Clemens) likes the faster indoor
courts, and I think that Alberto (Francis) and Kris (Kwinta)
won’t find it to be much of a disadvantage at all.”
It shouldn’t be for Clemens and Kwinta, who both grew up
in Europe and have a lot of experience playing indoors.
“From my results, you would think that I prefer playing
indoors because I’ve only lost one singles match indoors my
whole college career,” said Clemens, currently ranked No. 12
in the country. “I am an indoor player, and I love to
play on the fast courts. I’ve got a big serve, and my game is
just big all around.”
Kwinta, who is ranked No. 78 in the nation, also anticipates
returning to an indoor competition, as he feels his performance
will be enhanced in the new setting.
“I love playing at a fast pace because my game is really
quick, and the faster the courts the better for me,” Kwinta
said. “I can take better advantage of my serve, score more
points on my opponent, and it’s just great to finally play on
those fast courts.”
But other Bruins making the trip, such as Chris Lam, Philipp
Gruendler and Aaron Yovan, will have to make a quick adjustment to
their style of play if they want to make it out of the first
round.
“Playing Kentucky will be a shocker,” Martin said.
“The courts at the club are 25 percent faster than the
outdoor courts that we have at UCLA, and that will be a big
adjustment for the team.”
When the Bruins face the Wildcats, it is likely Clemens will
face his stiffest challenge of the season in No. 16 Jesse Witten, a
player who reached the NCAA singles finals in his freshman
season.
Clemens, who is riding a 20-match win streak, is expecting a
battle.
“When I played him last year, it was a real dog
fight,” he said. “I expect the same thing this
time.”
As a team, the Bruins are expecting to face Florida in the
second round. The Gators open play against Harvard.
It is an enticing opportunity for Francis and the Bruins, who
fell to the Gators at the Indoor semifinals a year ago before
defeating them in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament.
“We honestly don’t like them very much,”
Francis said. “We are looking forward to playing them, and
getting past them and through to the next round.”
The National Indoors boasts 16 of the country’s best
teams, with No. 1 Illinois, last year’s NCAA champion, among
them.
But it’s not Illinois that has Martin the most worried. If
the team happens to advance past the second round, the Bruins would
face No. 2 Baylor in the semifinals. The match-up would provide
UCLA with a first glimpse at the Bears, as it will face them March
26 in Westwood.
“I think Baylor is the greatest team in the nation right
now, and they are the team that we have to beat when we make it to
the NCAAs,” Martin said. “I would love to see that
match-up in this Indoor tournament, just to see where our players
stack up to them, and to see what we have to do to beat the best
team in the country.”
Despite the indoor venue not favoring the UCLA players and their
style of play, the team remains confident and prepared to put up a
fight in Seattle.
“We are focused, mentally tough, and no one can break us
now,” Kwinta said. “We have a good chance of winning
this tournament.”
