M. tennis: Club tennis teams finish 4th, 6th

When the USA Team Tennis National Campus Tennis Championships
kicked off last Thursday, UCLA was the only school out of 47 to
qualify two teams. By the end of the second day, it had become the
only school in the tournament’s history to qualify two teams
for the gold bracket. The Blue and Gold teams finished fourth and
sixth, respectively, last weekend, with each squad winning its
regional bracket before falling to eventual finalist Texas.
“It’s a sign of the depth that UCLA’s club
program has so many good players,” team captain Mark Otten
said. “It looked impressive to have two teams finish high,
even though we didn’t win.” The Gold team notched an
impressive comeback win over Michigan in the final match of pool
play to win its region and advance to the gold bracket. Trailing by
four games going into the mixed doubles, David Creswell and Nicole
Wink scored a 6-1 victory to give UCLA the edge, 22-21. The win
avenged the Bruins’ loss to the Wolverines in last
year’s third-place match. “We built some tremendous
momentum and just rolled,” Creswell said. “It was a
great come-from-behind win against a team with more skills. But we
just outcompeted. There’s nothing better than winning when
the odds are stacked against you.” Meanwhile, the Blue team
had an easier path into the gold bracket. Clinging to a one-game
lead heading into the mixed doubles, Nick DeGoede and Alana
Pfeffinger had fallen behind early and were down a break of serve.
But in an emotionally charged comeback, during which the Nittany
Lions’ Matt Black smashed and broke two rackets, UCLA
prevailed 6-3. “It was the most exciting tennis match
I’ve ever played,” DeGoede said. “The fans were
really into the match. You have drama with their girl yelling at
our fans, a few bad calls and different things going on.”
While it was DeGoede and Pfeffinger who provided the heroics that
enabled UCLA to advance, it was singles player Nida Denson who had
put the Bruins in position to claim the victory. Denson, who went
undefeated in singles during last year’s tournament, went 5-1
this year, yielding only five total games in the three gold-bracket
matches for the Blue team. “We didn’t see anyone out
there who was really Nida’s quality,” Otten said.
“A lot of other teams were strong in the men’s
department, but she really gave us a chance to win this tournament
the past two years.”

MEN’S TENNIS: The seventh-ranked UCLA men’s tennis
team returns home today to face No. 36 Virginia Commonwealth in its
last non-conference match of the season. It will be the first-ever
meeting between the two schools. The Bruins (14-2) are coming off
an impressive weekend in the desert, where they swept Arizona State
and Arizona to return to winning form after a disappointing loss to
USC. The team will likely still be without the services of Luben
Pampoulov, who has been suffering with a pinched nerve in his neck.
Senior Kris Kwinta has been particularly impressive in
Pampoulov’s absence, playing some of the best tennis of his
UCLA career against Arizona. Today’s match will be the
Bruins’ last before final exams. After the completion of
finals, the Arizona schools will visit the Los Angeles Tennis
Center on March 25 and 26.

Compiled by Bruin Sports senior staff.