UCLA thanks Stanford coach for the healthy rivalry and
competition Saturday’s men’s tennis match saw
a legend grace the courts of the Los Angeles Tennis Center for the
last time. Now in his 38th year at the helm of Stanford, legendary
coach Dick Gould will retire at the end of the season. Realizing
how much Gould and Stanford have meant to the UCLA tennis program,
Bruin coach Billy Martin wanted to do something special to honor
the man who he has competed against for so many years. On Saturday,
following the completion of doubles, Martin presented Gould with a
plaque and said some kind words about how much the tennis coaching
legend has meant to UCLA. “I just really felt strongly that
we wanted to recognize him and let him know how special the rivalry
has been,” Martin said. “It’s just been a great
rivalry, and I felt that it needed to be recognized.” Gould
thanked the crowd, then jokingly thanked Martin’s team for
honoring him by sweeping all three doubles matches. During his
tenure at Stanford, Gould has amassed a gaudy 769-145 record and
won an astonishing 17 national championships. Upon being presented
with the plaque, Gould posed for a picture with Martin and former
UCLA coach Glenn Bassett. “If we hadn’t have done
anything, it would have been a shame,” Martin said.
SWEET REDEMPTION: Chris Lam doesn’t like
to be reminded of last year’s home match against Stanford. In
the team’s heartbreaking 4-3 defeat last April, Lam lost the
decisive match to Sam Warburg in three sets. Needless to say, it
was not a fun experience. “I have bad memories still,
nightmares every once in a while about that match,” Lam said.
But that difficult loss was one reason Saturday’s win was so
satisfying. “I was really determined today,” Lam said.
“I did not want to lose again, especially because of what
happened last year.” However, things didn’t start out
so well for Lam. Before he knew it, he was staring up at the
scoreboard down a set. “I started slow, and he started
fast,” Lam said. “When that happens, you get a 6-1 loss
in the first set. But I picked up my game, and I think that caused
him to drop his a little bit.” Lam certainly did something
right, and he rolled to a 1-6, 6-2, 6-1 victory over Phil Sheng,
securing the third team point of the day for the Bruins.
DROP SHOTS: Tobias Clemens played in the last
regular season match of his UCLA career Saturday … UCLA holds a
48-45 record against Stanford since 1967 … The Bruins head north
to face Oregon on Friday and Washington on Saturday.