Friday, 5/23/97 Bruins rally through second round M.TENNIS: Eric
Taino, Kevin Kim turn in wins as NCAAs continue
By Mark Shapiro Daily Bruin Staff For being the third-seeded
player in the NCAA men’s tennis singles championship, UCLA’s Eric
Taino sure is making things hard for himself. After taking three
sets to dispose of South Alabama’s John James in the first round
Wednesday, Taino was again stretched to three sets in his
second-round match against Fredrick Giers of Fresno State. For the
second day in a row, Taino dropped the first set and had to rally
to squeak out a 4-6, 6-0, 7-6 victory. With a round-of-16 match
against Olivier Tauma of Virginia Commonwealth looming today, Taino
is struggling to find an early edge. "Frustration is a good word,"
Taino said. "My play in the first set isn’t anywhere near to the
level I’m playing in the second and third. I don’t want it as much
in the first set. I definitely need to start earlier or I’m going
to lose pretty soon. "It gives me a little confidence to know
there’s another level that I can go to." Taino’s second-round match
marked the third time that he has faced Giers this season. In three
matchups, the two have now played two third-set tiebreakers. "He’s
a tough guy to play," Taino said. "Mentally you have to be in there
every point because he’ll run out there all day." Freshman Kevin
Kim had an easier time in his second-round match against Alberto
Brause of Duke, scoring a 6-3, 7-5 victory. Kim, who will face Luke
Smith of UNLV in today’s third round, has been red hot as of late
and has yet to lose a set in five singles matches since the NCAA
Tournament started. "Kevin played great today," UCLA head coach
Billy Martin said. "He’s playing really well; in the individuals,
he looks really strong." The road to the final got a bit easier for
Kim and Taino as No. 1 seed Thomas Dupre of Mississippi was ousted
by Ivan Rodrigo of Miami, 6-4, 6-0. Meanwhile, UCLA’s doubles teams
both fell in rematches with Georgia’s two doubles teams. Kim and
Eric Lin lost to John Roddick and Kevin Sessions, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4,
and Taino and Alex Decret lost to Steven Baldas and Rafael Jordan,
6-4, 6-4. AARON TOUT Freshman Kevin Kim has breezed through the
NCAA Championships so far. He has not dropped a set in five
tournament singles matches. Related Links: NCAA