Daily Bruin File Photo Junior Jean-Julien
Rojer sets up his swing in last May’s regional
competition.
By Gilbert Quiñonez
Daily Bruin Contributor
The No. 3 UCLA men’s tennis team will play its first match
of the season today at home against UC Santa Barbara. The Bruins
are coming off of a year in which they finished 26-3 and a
preseason in which several of their players won tournaments.
The Bruins look to compete for the NCAA championship this year,
while UCSB finished a dismal 6-17 last year.
“They’re a good young team,” UCLA head coach
Billy Martin said. “They have some good players, but
I’m confident we can beat them.”
UCLA’s starting lineup will consist of Marcin Matkowski,
Tobias Clemens, Jean-Julien Rojer, Rodrigo Grilli, Erfan Djahangiri
and Lassi Ketola.
The doubles starters will be Matkowski/Rojer, Clemens/Ketola and
Djahangiri/Grilli.
“It’s been a while since we’ve played a dual
match,” Rojer said. “We’ve been looking forward
to this. We’re very confident, we have a strong team, a very
good lineup and expect to do well.”
UCLA enters the match with five ranked starters, including three
in the top 20.
“I’m excited; it’s good to get back into the
routine, get the feeling back,” said Clemens, who is ranked
19th in the nation. “(The team) is definitely going to lose
less than last year.”
UCSB has a grand total of one ranked player ““ Carlos
Palencia (No. 79).
All signs point to a victory for the Bruins, including a 21-1
all-time record against UCSB.
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Upcoming events for the team include two tournaments ““ the
Sherwood Collegiate Cup and the National Collegiate Tennis Classic,
both occurring this weekend.