Gearing up for a title defense

It’s not a team match, but it’s the first real
indication that a title defense is nearly upon the UCLA men’s
tennis team. Looking to work themselves into form before the season
begins next Friday against San Diego, members of the
national-champion team are taking to the road this weekend,
participating in either the National Collegiate Tennis Classic in
Indian Wells, Calif., or the Sherwood Collegiate Cup in Westlake
Village, Calif. Juniors Ben Kohlloeffel (No. 3 in the preseason
rankings) and Philipp Gruendler will be competing at Indian Wells.
They are the only returning starters from last year’s team
and will likely play as the UCLA No. 1 doubles team. Competing at
Sherwood will be juniors Aaron Yovan and Chris Surapol, sophomores
Jeremy Drean and Matheiu Dehaine, and freshmen Haythem Abid and
Andrew Eklov. Coach Billy Martin will use the Sherwood tournament
to help him decide the team’s starting lineup to open the
season. Kohlloeffel is expected to start at the No. 1 position, and
Abid, a top international recruit out of Tunisia, will start at the
No. 2 spot. Martin said that the remaining four positions are
essentially up for grabs among Gruendler, Yovan, Surapol, Drean and
Dehaine. A Bruin has won the Sherwood Collegiate Cup in each of the
last four seasons. Tobias Clemens won it from 2002 to 2004, and
Luben Pampoulov beat Kohlloeffel in the championship last season.
UCLA is ranked No. 5 in the preseason rankings.

SWIMMING AND DIVING: The No. 7 UCLA swimming
and diving team will separate for competition this weekend as the
swimmers stay in Westwood to host Pacific on Saturday and the
divers head to Bloomington, Ind., for the Indiana Invitational
today through Saturday. This weekend’s swim meet with Pacific
marks the first time in program history that the two teams have
faced each other in a dual meet. It also marks the return of former
assistant coach Greg Meehan, who is in his first year as coach for
the Tigers after assisting with the Bruin program from 2001 to
2004. “The team is looking forward to putting on their UCLA
suits and beginning the first of our four home meets,” said
swimming coach Cyndi Gallagher. “Our athletes have done a
great job in training and have swum fast in practice. … Now they
have to translate that into a meet situation.”

FORMER BRUINS HONORED: The San Diego Hall of
Champions has honored two of UCLA’s own stellar athletes as
two of the four San Diego Amateur Stars of the Year ““ track
star Monique Henderson and water polo great Kelly Rulon. Henderson
won the 2005 Honda Award as the nation’s top women’s
college track and field athlete. She won her first NCAA title in
the 400-meters with a personal-best time of 50.10 seconds (a new
NCAA meet record, Pac-10 record and UCLA school record). Rulon, a
2004 Olympic bronze medalist for the U.S. women’s water polo
team in Athens, Greece, led the Bruins to an undefeated season and
NCAA title in 2005. She was also named All-American in her final
season in Westwood.

Compiled by Bruin Sports senior staff.