UCLA d. Kentucky 4-2 USC d.
UCLA 4-1 UCLA d. Duke 4-1
By Gilbert Quiñonez
Daily Bruin Contributor
Kentucky, better known for its thoroughbreds and bluegrass, was
the hangout for disappointed tennis teams over the weekend.
In the quarterfinals of the National Indoors, No. 12 USC upset
the No. 3 Bruins 4-1.
No. 2 Stanford, who won the tournament, was the only team to
leave unscathed as No. 1 Georgia and No. 4 Tennessee were upset
early on.
UCLA’s upset was especially mind-boggling because the
Bruins had just beat USC 7-0 the week before.
“USC played a lot better than the first time we
played,” UCLA head coach Billy Martin said. “When you
beat someone that bad, you take it for granted sometimes. We
didn’t come out with the competitive spirit.”
The first time the teams met, the Bruins dominated the match
with most of the sets not even being close. The second time around,
UCLA didn’t win any singles matches; their only point came in
doubles.
In the first round of the tournament on Thursday, UCLA beat
Kentucky 4-2. The teams were playing for the second time in three
days, after the Bruins beat the Wildcats 4-3 two days earlier.
Don’t let the score fool you, though ““ the second
match may have been closer than the first one. With the Bruins
ahead 3-2, Kentucky’s Matt Emery had four match point
opportunities to beat Rodrigo Grilli. However, Grilli came back to
win the third set in a tiebreaker, giving UCLA the victory.
“Kentucky ended up being a scare,” Martin said.
“They turned out to be a very good team.”
After the Kentucky victories and the subsequent loss to USC,
UCLA beat No. 9 Duke 4-1 in the consolation match. “I’m
proud of them for rebounding after a tough loss,” Martin
said. “We came out and beat a very good Duke team. It’s
a very good win for us.”
Top singles player Tobias Clemens played well during the
tournament and hasn’t lost since October. “Clemens is
our hottest player right now,” Martin said.
“He’ll probably continue to stay as our No. 1
starter.”
Freshman Alberto Francis, who made his first appearance at
singles this season, is still recovering from an ankle injury.