Wednesday, March 4, 1998
Bruins need fan support to beat USC
MTENNIS: At home against Trojans, UCLA looks to avenge season’s
first loss
By Stephanie Chan
Daily Bruin Contributor
There are the loyal fans. There are the stragglers going to or
coming from class. There are the officials, the parents, the
players. Most of all, there are way too many empty seats in the Los
Angeles Tennis Center. Hopefully, this typical scene at UCLA men’s
tennis matches will change. It needs to if the Bruins are to beat
USC at "home" at 1:30 p.m. today.
On Feb. 13, it was Southern Cal’s crowd that pushed them through
a close match to beat the Bruins on Trojan turf, 4-3.
"I’m going to be pumped up because … we are playing them at
home, and everyone wants revenge. We are waiting for them," said
junior Vince Allegre.
The team would like to say they are "ready and waiting," but the
"ready" part has yet to be decided. The Bruins sit waiting without
Jason Cook and possibly Brandon Kramer in their lineup due to
injury.
"We’re missing a couple of our better players, so the other guys
are really going to have to step up, and sometimes that’s very
difficult for a guy who’s never played in that kind of match," said
UCLA head coach Billy Martin.
"(Chris Sands) was kind of thrown into the fire of having to win
one of those pressure matches (at USC). The first time out, that’s
difficult."
In UCLA’s last meeting with a USC redshirt freshman, Sands felt
the weight of a tied match on his shoulders.
"It came down to my match. I could have decided it, and I didn’t
win it. So I’d definitely like to get some revenge, come out strong
against them," said Sands.
The revenge factor has been brewing these past two weeks after
USC handed UCLA its first loss of the season.
"(This will be) an exciting match … especially after I
discovered the ambience the last time we played them," said
freshman Jean-Noel Grinda.
"It was my first tough, tough game with UCLA. I lost my own
match, so I’m pretty fired up to take my revenge."
Grinda lost to USC’s George Bastl, 6-2, 6-2.
Though the Bruins seem ready mentally, they still need to hurdle
the barrier of injury. Since the team is not 100 percent healthy,
the lost percentage points may need to be made up with luck.
"We need a little luck. We’ve had some circumstances that
haven’t been great for us so far this year. But if we get a little
luck and play some good tennis, we can get a win," said Martin.
"I’m not overly confident, but I still think we can win. … It
certainly will be tough for us. I certainly like a challenge, and
this will be a challenge for us. Anytime we play the Trojans we’re
going to give it 127 percent."
If luck will not pull the Bruins through, a rivalry just might
do the trick.
"There’s no chance they’ll beat us two times in a row, no
chance," said freshman Noah Newman.
But with the spirit of rivalry also comes splinter-margin
matches.
"I think it’s going to be tight regardless, whether we win or
lose," said senior Alex Decret.
"I don’t think we’ll blow them out of the water … I think that
we can win. We have a very good chance of winning, especially at
home … We went over there and the crowd was really behind their
guys. So hopefully we’ll get a crowd out here."
More often than not, it is the crowd that ultimately swings the
teeter-totter rivalry matches.
"I feel like since they’re coming over here we have a much
better chance because we’re ready to have a big crowd. We’re going
to try to get as big a crowd here as possible," said Newman.
Those empty seats in the LATC are going to have to be warmed up
for the UCLA blaze to overcome the No. 10 Trojans.
"USC is a tough team … and at the moment we are obviously
struggling with the two injuries. I honestly believe we can win …
if we’ll just make it a team effort," said senior Matt Breen.
That team effort will not only need the talent of Grinda,
Allegre, Breen, Decret, Sands and Newman; it will need the support
of lady luck, the adrenaline pumped by rivalry and, most
importantly, the UCLA crowd.
PATRICK LAM
Freshman Jean-Noel Grinda sets up for a return.