M. tennis: Tennis earns 4 victories over break

While almost everyone else was away for spring break, the UCLA
men’s tennis team was simply taking care of business.

The sixth-ranked Bruins (19-2, 4-0 Pac-10) ran their winning
streak to seven matches over the break with four dominating
performances, first over the Arizona schools and then against
Washington and Oregon.

It appears that everything is finally starting to fall into
place for the Bruins, who have three regular-season matches
remaining before the postseason.

“It’s coming together,” senior Chris Lam said.
“It’s getting late in the year, so it’s good that
everything’s starting to click together.”

With 7-0 wins over both Arizona and Arizona State, a 5-0 shutout
of Washington and a 6-1 win over Oregon, UCLA is certainly making
its claim as one of the nation’s elite squads. It’s a
far cry from the team left searching for its identity after a
depressing loss to USC on March 1.

“We’re better than we were at the beginning of the
season,” UCLA coach Billy Martin said. “I think
we’ve looked really good here.”

Earlier in the season, Martin wasn’t really satisfied with
the fitness level of several of his players or their mental
toughness. But after Saturday’s victory over Oregon, Martin
had only good things to say.

The Bruin coach is thrilled to see a healthy Luben Pampoulov on
the court. Pampoulov, ranked No. 7 in the nation, had been hampered
with a pinched nerve in his neck since late February. Since
returning to the lineup on March 25, Pampoulov has won all four of
his matches in straight sets.

“Luben is really looking like that pinched nerve is
fine,” Martin said. “Knock on wood. We’re
healthy, and hopefully we can stay that way.”

With a healthy Pampoulov in the lineup, UCLA is a very dangerous
team, boasting two players ranked in the top 10 in the country
playing at the top two singles positions. Benjamin Kohlloeffel is
ranked No. 10.

“I think right now we’re heading to where we want to
be,” Pampoulov said. “It looks good.”

Martin is also pleased with the development of the rest of his
players. He said that Lam and Alberto Francis look better than they
did earlier in the season, and Philipp Gruendler continues to
improve after sitting out the first eight matches of the
season.

Though Kris Kwinta sat out Saturday’s match, he will be
back in the lineup Friday when the Bruins visit California. In his
absence, freshman Mathieu Dehaine did a solid job at the No. 6
position for UCLA.

Martin has also finally settled into a doubles lineup, something
that has plagued the team almost all season. German countrymen
Kohlloeffel and Gruendler are now playing together at the No. 2
position, and Pampoulov and Lam are new teammates at No. 3. Kwinta
and Francis are still at the No. 1 spot.

“I think it gives us a little more depth and makes us
solid at all three spots,” Martin said. “Right now I
kind of like that.”

As long as the team keeps winning, no one can find much reason
to complain.

“I’m glad where we are now,” Kohlloeffel said.
“We played great tennis against Washington, and I’m
looking forward to the next matches.”