Men's tennis faces difficult Northern California swing

As the UCLA men’s tennis team travels to take on California and Stanford this weekend, it faces a critical junction in its season, where each point of each match gains increasing importance and may potentially alter the Bruins’ Pac-10 title aspirations.

These next two matches are a defining moment in the Bruins season. Having already lost a tough match to Cal in their previous matchup, the Bruins will have a chance to exact revenge on Friday, before taking on a very tough Stanford squad for the first time this season on Saturday, with both matches having serious ramifications in the ITA National Rankings and the Pac-10 standings.

In Cal, the No. 13 Bruins know what to expect. Last time the two teams met, the Bruins played quite possibly their worst match of the season, and looked unprepared to do battle. The Bears were on form and took advantage of the Bruins poor performance en route to a 5-2 upset victory.

Now the tides have turned, Cal has risen through the rankings and can no longer be taken lightly. They boast the No. 15 player in the nation in senior Pedro Zerbini as well as No. 69 sophomore Carlos Cueto. A key element of the last matchup with Cal was UCLA’s loss of the doubles point. This will once again play a focal role in determining the outcome of Friday’s contest. The Bears also have a strong doubles unit led by the tandem of Nick Andrews and Christoffer Konigsfeldt, who are ranked No. 21 in the nation.

This match also has additional importance because it has Pac-10 implications, while the previous matchups between the two teams did not.

After taking on Cal, UCLA heads to Palo Alto to take on Stanford for the first time this year, after their first scheduled match from last month was rained out. The No. 7 Cardinal will not provide an easy end to the weekend for the Bruins.

Stanford has three players amongst the top 100 players in the nation, in No. 10 Bradley Klahn, No. 36 Ryan Thacher and No. 93 Alex Clayton, while Klahn and Thacher combine to form one of the strongest doubles teams in the nation. This will serve as yet another tough test in preparing the Bruins for what lies ahead in the Pac-10 Championships and NCAA Tournament.

These stiff tests will give the Bruins an accurate barometer of just how far this young Bruins squad has come this season and how much work remains in the short time before their important challenges ahead.