Tuesday, May 26, 1998
Stanford takes UCLA out of the ballgame
MEN’S TENNIS: Bruins don’t manage to advance out of NCAA
quarterfinals
By Stephanie Chan
Daily Bruin Contributor
Three strikes and you’re out. No, this is not a baseball story.
The UCLA men’s tennis team ran into the three strikes rule at the
quarterfinals of the NCAA Championships against Stanford, who they
met for the third time this season
The Cardinal eliminated the Bruins from the tournament on Sunday
with a 5-0 victory. The line-ups shuffled a bit from the last time
these two teams met, but the same fate awaited the Bruins against
the No. 1-seeded Stanford team which boasts an all-ranked player
line-up.
Stanford took a 1-0 lead by claiming the doubles point. The No.
4 Bryan twins, Mike and Bob, defeated UCLA’s Matt Breen and
Jean-Noel Grinda on Court 1, 8-4. The second half of Stanford’s
doubles blow came on Court 2.
Despite leading 5-0, UCLA’s Alex Decret and Brandon Kramer could
not hold onto the match. Stanford’s No. 16 Paul Goldstein and Ryan
Wolters clinched the doubles point 8-5.
Stanford extended its lead with two two-set wins at the No. 4
and No. 5 positions. No. 92 Jason Cook, the only Bruin to take a
point from Stanford this season, could not repeat. Stanford’s No.
21 Wolters solidly defeated Cook, 6-3, 6-3. On the court next door,
No. 88 Geoff Abrams sealed Stanford’s third point in a second set
tiebreaker against Decret, 6-2, 7-6(3).
The Bruins did not let go of the match-determining fourth point
easily. No. 22 Grinda took the first set from the Pac-10 champion,
No. 24 Goldstein on Court 1. On Court 6, Kramer and Kim were split,
each taking a set. No. 11 Vince Allegre and Breen barely gave up
their first sets with 5-7 losses.
Eventually, Stanford branded the "W" with a double clincher.
Both Bryan’s earned victories at the same time. As No. 6 Bob
defeated Breen on Court 3, 7-5, 6-4, No. 10 Mike defeated Allegre
on Court 2, 7-5. 6-2.
Though the Bruins lost to Stanford, they will not leave Georgia
winless.
UCLA, in Cotton Bowl-esque fashion, defeated Texas in the first
round, 4-2.
After losing the doubles point, the Bruins picked up the pace.
Allegre led the Bruin charge sweeping Texas’ No. 91 Nick Crowell,
6-0, 6-0. Cook followed up with the second point on Court 4,
defeating Texas’ Gwenael Guiet, 6-2, 6-1. Grinda pulled in the
third point, taking Texas’ No. 74 Paul Martin in straight sets,
6-3, 6-4.
After Longhorn Michael Blue escaped Court 6 with a three-set
victory over Kramer, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, the match heated up even more.
Decret, down in the third set, was battling Texas’ B. J. Stearns.
The veteran Decret put the finishing touch on the Bruin victory,
coming back to win, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.
The Bruins end the season 17-8 with almost half of their losses
coming from Pac-10 rival Stanford.
The NCAA individual championships begin Wednesday. UCLA’s top
three players, Grinda, Allegre, and Breen will meet a field of 64,
while Grinda and Breen will team up to compete in the doubles
championships.
GENEVIEVE LIANG/Daily Bruin
Vince Allegre plays during the NCAA regional competitions.