As Pac-12 play is underway and the regular season starts to wind to a close, the men’s tennis team is still in the process of improving its game.
Players have spent the majority of the season working on their doubles game, which they have struggled with at various points during the year.
“If we want to have a chance to reach our goals, we need to win that doubles point,” said coach Billy Martin. “To beat an ‘SC or Virginia or Ohio State or even Stanford or Cal, we have to be tip-top, and I just feel like our room for improvement is a little bit more on the doubles side than the singles side.”
The No. 5 Bruins (16-2, 2-0 Pac-12) can continue to refine their doubles game when they travel this weekend to play Arizona (5-12, 0-2) and Utah (11-7, 0-2). The team will have to adjust to the different altitudes in these states, which will have not only an effect on players’ breathing, but also on the ball.
“We are going to have to deal with high altitude and the ball is going to be really jumping,” said redshirt junior Alex Brigham. “Here the ball doesn’t jump as much, it’s right in our strike zone; but at Arizona and Utah, the match is going to be very close and very contentious because of the fact we aren’t used to those conditions, so hopefully we can adjust.”
In recent matches, Martin has tinkered with the doubles lineups as he hopes to find the matchups that work best for his players.
“I’m trying to switch it up everyday in practice and just trying to get feedback from the players to see who they feel like they mix well with,” Martin said. “We’re a relatively small team, but there’s just never going to be a year where everybody gets along great with everybody so we want to have good chemistry, and be able to feed off each other and take the good and the bad with each other.”
The players, such as sophomore Clay Thompson, have been receptive to Martin’s strategy and it has helped them as they have won five straight doubles points.
“It’s kind of fun to try playing with every single guy and coach (Martin) is giving everyone a fair chance, so I think it kind of motivates everyone and is translating into good doubles wins for us,” Thompson said.