PATIL ARMENIAN/Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Jean-Julien Rojer, shown here in a match earlier
this season, and the men’s tennis team, will take on the Arizona
schools this weekend. MEN’S TENNIS vs. Friday 12
p.m. Tucson, Ariz. vs. Saturday 11 a.m. Tempe, Ariz.
By Rekha Rao
Daily Bruin Contributor
The UCLA men’s tennis team kicks off its Pac-10 dual match
season when it travels to the desert to take on Arizona today and
Arizona State on Saturday.
“It is always tough going into the desert for us, but we
are looking forward to it,” said head coach Billy Martin.
UCLA is coming off an easy 6-1 win against BYU last Friday.
“We feel good. The first traveling experience is always
hard. I hope we will have a smooth trip,” said senior
Jean-Noel Grinda.
The No. 3 Bruins travel to Tucson to play the No. 60 Wildcats
for their 47th meeting. UCLA holds a 46-0 record in the series. The
Wildcats have a 2-0 record, having won their matches against Santa
Clara and New Mexico State.
“The team is pretty confident, but it is always hard
playing a Pac-10 team,” said Bruin sophomore Lassie
Ketola.
On Saturday, the Bruins travel to Tempe to take on the No. 52
Arizona State Sun Devils. The Sun Devils also hold a 2-0 record,
similarly beating both Santa Clara and New Mexico State, with 6-1
scores. Arizona State could pose a significant threat to UCLA
because of its two top starters, Matt Klinger and Pim van Mele.
“This will be a tough match and they are a good team. We
have good singles, but some of our guys just aren’t good
doubles players,” Martin said.
The Bruins have been struggling early this season with their
doubles lineup. Martin has combined different teams together in
hopes to find the perfect match for the rest of the season. The
team of Grinda and freshman Jean-Julien Rojer remain together at
the No. 1 spot in doubles for the Bruins.
“The doubles is something that we are lagging in right
now. It is very important to start with three doubles and continue
on with six singles,” Martin said. “I am mixing and
matching and seeing how the teams click, but for far it has not
clicked. We have plenty of time.”
One of the problems lies within most players’ desire to
play the ad (left) side of the court during the match. Most players
do not want to play the deuce (right) side.
“I only have one player out of eight guys that actually
wants to play the deuce courts. They will all get better and more
comfortable. The deuce court is harder to play in doubles,”
Martin said.
Another obstacle to UCLA’s success this weekend could be
the higher altitude that the team will experience in Arizona.
“The altitude makes the balls fly a lot more than normal,
because of less resistance from the air. About eighty percent of
our balls are within a foot or two of the line, so it makes a
difference,” Grinda said.
The UCLA team has also gotten some new members this year, whom
Martin has been trying out in different positions for the first few
matches. Freshman Tobias Clemens from Germany started off playing
in the No. 3 position. He played professionally for a year before
starting at UCLA.
Another new player for the Bruins is freshman Marcin Matkowski,
from Poland, who has played for the Polish Davis Cup team.
“He (Clemens) could play No. 1 for us this year, but I
have stuck him at the No. 3 spot just to see what college tennis is
all about for the first few months,” Martin said.
But the Bruins also have returning players with the experience
to guide them to a NCAA championship.
“We are determined to get right back into it this year and
have a couple of returning seniors, like Grinda. We have a good
group of experienced players that will really help us,”
Martin said.