Tuesday, 5/20/97 Goldstein’s lineup change for NCAA spurs
controversy STANFORD: All American’s injury cause for lower spot;
International Tennis Association approves move
By Mark Shapiro Daily Bruin Staff When the teams participating
in the NCAA men’s tennis championship presented their lineups to
the tournament committee Friday, an element of contention was
brought up. Now, that contested lineup has made its way into the
final match. Stanford’s 1996 All-American Paul Goldstein, who was
sidelined for the final six weeks of the season with a stress
fracture, emerged in the No. 4 position in the Cardinal lineup,
prompting several coaches to contest the lineup. After being
reviewed in committee, the lineup was given the go-ahead.
International Tennis Association (ITA) rules state that a player is
allowed to move down two spots. In three NCAA tournament matches
leading up to the finals, Goldstein was 2-1, posting victories in
matches against Harvard and Texas, and losing to Martin Sjoqvist of
Mississippi in the semifinals. Goldstein, a junior, spent last
season at the No. 2 singles spot and before his injury, was playing
No. 2 singles and was ranked 11th in the nation. "It’s surprising,"
UCLA head coach Billy Martin said after UCLA’s first-round match.
"If he’s not their first-best player, for sure he’s their
second-best player. To see him playing four is shocking because I
know what he’s capable of." During his injury, freshman Bob Bryan
filled in at No. 2 singles and only lost one match. Mike Bryan
moved up to No. 3 singles and also lost only one match. After
Goldstein’s long layoff, a lineup was submitted with him at number
four singles, behind erstwhile number one Ryan Wolters and the
Bryan twins. After the mandatory coaches meeting on Friday
afternoon, several schools contested the Cardinal lineup. A six
person NCAA committee met to address the concerns and gave the
Cardinal lineup the green light. "After that long of an injury
layoff, when the guy has not played a match in that length of time,
it’s really difficult to say where he fits in," John Kreis, chair
of the NCAA men’s tennis subcommittee, said. "Everybody knows he’s
a good player." While he had not played singles since the injury,
Goldstein had played doubles, teaming with Wolters to win the
Pac-10 doubles championship in early May. While doctors had okayed
that activity, Goldstein had been advised to avoid playing singles.
"We had hoped that he would be able to play in Pac-10 singles, (the
doctors) wouldn’t let him play singles," Stanford head coach Dick
Gould said. Gould, who drafted the lineup, was swayed by the play
of the Bryan twins, as Bob won the Pac-10 singles championship and
Mike was named second team All Pac-10, as well as the uncertain
play of Goldstein in singles "Since (Goldstein’s injury), Bob moves
to number two… and Mike moves to number three," Gould said. "Can
you look those players in the eye who’ve done that in the toughest
part of the schedule and say ‘hey, Paul’s back, now I’m going to
move you down? To me it was a non-choice." Mississippi head coach
Billy Chadwick, whose Rebels lost to the Cardinal in the
semifinals, also agreed with Gould’s assessment. "It didn’t
surprise me for that to take place," Chadwick said. "(Monday)
proved that Dick Gould was right on target because the Bryan
brothers were playing so well. I yield to him, he’s the wisest of
the coaches out here." Stanford tennis player Paul Goldstein
returns a ball in a semifinal match against Mississippi. Goldstein
was moved from No. 2 to No. 4 in the Stanford lineup.