By Rekha Rao
Daily Bruin Contributor
With the help of returning seniors and new freshmen, the UCLA
men’s tennis team has high hopes this year of winning the
NCAA title in Atlanta, Georgia in May.
Although the Bruins lost two top players last year, Jong-Min Lee
and Brandon Kramer, they also acquired freshmen who can fill their
spots.
“Our goal this season is to win the NCAA championship,
like every other season,” said sophomore Lassi Ketola.
After an injury-filled last season, the team wants revenge for
their losses.
“We are determined to get right back into it this
year,” head coach Billy Martin said.
Returning players include senior Jean-Noel Grinda, who sat out
the first half of last year due to a back injury and was unable to
play in the Bruins’ first few matches last season. This year
has been different.
Grinda has started in all of the matches so far and this past
weekend, he and doubles partner sophomore Jean-Julian Rojer won the
consolation doubles tournament at the ITA Rolex National Indoor
Championships.
“Our goals are very high, especially for the seniors who
only have one more chance to get a championship,” Grinda
said.
The newcomers this year include freshman Tobias Clemens from
Germany, who played professional tennis for a year before coming to
UCLA.
He has started off at the No. 3 spot for the Bruins, but could
be moved to the No. 1 spot.
“I just want him to get a little experience and get to
know what college tennis is all about,” Martin said.
Another new player for UCLA is Marcin Matkowski from Poland. He
has played in the Davis Cup for his country and is a very
experienced player.
“I am just getting a view of him, and seeing what his
weaknesses and strengths are. I have to let him battle it out with
the other players for one of the top spots on the team,”
Martin said.
The team’s depth will definitely help the Bruins this year
as they head into difficult competition against USC, Pepperdine and
Stanford.
“We have eight players that can play in our top six, and
that will be a tough decision for me. It is hard to have two
quality players sit on the bench, but we will do a little bit of
rotation,” Martin said.
The Bruins have a lot to avenge this year. Last season, they
lost tough battles to Pepperdine and Stanford in the NCAA Team and
Individual Championships.
“We lost to them last year and we don’t want to let
them have a chance this year,” Ketola said.
Although Grinda, Clemens, Matkowski and Rojer will battle for
the top spots on the team, other players such as senior Chris
Sands, sophomore Efran Djahangiri, and Ketola will also be
contenders for top positions.
The doubles teams remain strong with the No. 3 ranked team in
the nation of Grinda and Rojer leading the Bruins.
Tennis is scored by playing all three doubles matches first,
gaining one point from the winner of two out of three doubles
points and then, proceeding with the singles play. Therefore,
doubles matches are important to secure the first point of the
match, and have a lead going into the singles play. Ketola and
Clemens have been playing doubles together over the last few
games.
“We are one of the six or seven other teams that have a
chance at the NCAAs. After seeing some of the teams at the ITA
Indoor Championship this weekend, they will be difficult
matches,” Grinda said.
The toughest matches of the season for UCLA should be their dual
matches, and the big games against USC, Pepperdine, Stanford, and
Cal.
“This should be an exciting year for us at UCLA. It is
always a pleasure to have a strong team and schedule. It really
toughens us up for the year heading into Georgia for the NCAA
Championships,” Martin said.
MEN’S TENNIS SOURCE: Daily Bruin Sports
Original graphic by VICTOR CHEN/Daily Bruin Web adaptation by
JUSTIN HONG and NATALIE DAVIS