Monday, April 20, 1998
Win over Cal dampened by loss to Stanford
M. TENNIS: Bruin seniors denied victory in final home match with
Cardinal defeat
By Stephanie Chan
Daily Bruin Contributor
If you want to see pure emotions, don’t look to the silver
screen. Look to the blue courts of the Los Angeles Tennis Center.
When the No. 8 UCLA Bruins hosted the No. 1 Stanford Cardinal on
Saturday, the battles were not just fought on the court, but in the
heads of each player.
Because they are graduating, this would be the last time Matt
Breen, Vince Allegre and Alex Decret played in front of the home
crowd.
This was the Cardinal’s last hurdle of the regular season, their
chance to cap it off undefeated.
This match attracted the largest crowd of the season. The
applause came in floods, not in the normal bits and pieces.
Bottom line, this was a UCLA-Stanford matchup – tough win, tough
loss.
This time it was Stanford’s tough win and UCLA’s tough loss. The
Cardinal cleaned up, but didn’t sweep, winning 6-1.
Stanford jumped out ahead quickly as the No. 1-ranked duo of
twins Mike and Bob Bryan dominated the team of Alex Decret and
Brandon Kramer in the No. 2 match, 8-0.
The Bruins did not count themselves out though. The No. 1 team
of Jean-Noel Grinda and Breen, and the No. 3 team of Vince Allegre
and Jason Cook, looked like they had the big come-from-behind
victories in reach, but their momentum was killed by the
Cardinal.
Stanford’s No. 1 pair of Ryan Wolters and Paul Goldstein and No.
3 tandem of Geoff Abrams and Charles Hoeveler slipped by the
comebacks, defeating the Bruin teams 9-7 and 8-5, respectively.
Stanford’s Bob Bryan could probably describe the No. 1 and No. 2
matches the best. In the second set, he drilled an overhead into
the ground and let out a karate-sounding "Ahhhhh-hh." Allegre
fought off the punches and kicks of Bryan’s racquet but could not
fend him off. Bryan defeated Allegre, 6-2, 6-3.
"I worked very hard on every point. I gave 100 percent today
knowing it was the last game," said the disappointed Allegre.
Bob Bryan’s mirror image almost produced a mirror match on Court
No. 1. Mike Bryan put up the Cardinal’s first singles point,
defeating Grinda, 6-3, 6-3.
At No. 3 Breen took Stanford’s Wolters to three sets. Wolters
captured the first set, 6-4. Breen owned the second, 6-3. But the
third set belonged to Wolters, a quick 6-1 set.
"UCLA has given me so much … so I kind of wanted to give a
little back to UCLA today," said Breen.
The desire showed in Breen’s fight.
In the 4-6 matches, the Bruins, Decret, Cook and Kramer, were
able to put first set losses behind them, to jump out in front of
the Cardinal in the second sets.
Decret appeared ready to make the match his, but Stanford’s
Goldstein hung on to defeat him, 4-6, 6-7.
In the No. 6 match Kramer could also taste victory after losing
a close first set, 5-7, and winning the second, 6-3. Stanford’s
Abrams also had victory in sight though and was able to close out
the match 6-2.
On Court No. 5, Cook led the Bruins in avoiding the Cardinal
sweep, handing Stanford’s Alex Kim his first dual match loss of the
season. Kim jumped ahead with a 6-3 first set, but Cook hurdled the
first set and took the second and third sets, 6-4, 6-4.
"I knew that it was going to be a couple points here and there
that would make a difference … It’s just how the ball bounces.
Sometimes it goes your way, and sometimes it doesn’t," said
Cook.
The ball bounced in his favor, but ultimately bounced in the
Cardinal’s.
This past weekend was not all about defeat, though. UCLA entered
the Stanford match having swept No. 28 California on Friday. Cal
traveled south, hoping to copy the sweep of the Southern California
schools they had at home earlier in the season.
But this time, it was UCLA doing the sweeping. The Bruins put up
the 7-0 on the scoreboard against the Bears.
The Bruins started the sweep by stacking up three 8-3 victories
to take the doubles point, which was crucial in their earlier loss
to Cal.
Grinda and Breen defeated Cal’s Bobby Mahal and Nathan Jackmon.
Decret and Kramer claimed the No. 2 match over Cal’s Minh Le and
Erik Dmytruk. Allegre and Cook brought the victories full circle,
taking Cal’s Adrian Barnes and Scott Knitz.
Breen hopped off the court early with a quick, decisive 6-2, 6-2
win over a struggling Jackmon.
"I think that (this win) shows that the extra work we put in has
been paying off. We were focused on our job," said Breen.
Grinda followed Breen’s lead, closing out the No. 1 match
against Cal’s Mahal. Grinda’s powerful serve left Mahal frozen at
times. In the first set, Grinda turned the match around, with three
consecutive aces, after being down 4-5 . He defeated Mahal, 7-5,
6-1.
The 7-5 first set was also popular in the No. 5 and No. 6
matches. After a 7-5 first set, Kramer pocketed the second 6-0 for
the victory-clinching match.
At No. 5 Cook took the first set 7-5, and ziplocked the match
with a 6-3 second set over Raiszadeh.
"I think it’s about time I started playing well," said Cook, who
has been out for most of the season with a wrist injury.
Cal’s Le fought hard in a match of long rallies against Allegre
in the No. 2 match, but Allegre prevailed 6-3, 6-3. Decret brought
home the sweep after being extended to three sets by Cal’s Barnes,
6-2, 4-6, 6-1.
With the regular season now history, the Bruins are focusing on
the NCAA Championships. What do the Bruins have to do now?
"We just gotta bear down and try to get into the NCAAs," said
Cook.
DERRICK KUDO/Daily Bruin
Matt Breen reaches for a shot against Stanford as doubles
partner Jean-Noel Grinda looks on.