University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Men's Tennis Plays Host To Rival No. 10 USC Wednesday
Mar. 3, 1998
This Week - Bruins Host Fresno State
In one of the most anticipated home matches of the season, the No. 2 ranked UCLA men's tennis team plays host to crosstown rival USC, ranked No. 10, on Wed., Mar. 4 at 1:30 p.m. There is no admission charge to home matches which are played on campus at the Los Angeles Tennis Center. Fans can pick up a free team poster at the gate and enter to win a drawing for tennis gear and a camp scholarship during the match.
Later in the week, the Bruins will send select players to compete in the Pacific Coast Doubles Tournament in LaJolla Mar. 5-8.
About This Week's Opponent
Ranked No. 10 in the nation entering the season, USC brings a 5-2 record into the week. The Trojans are coming off a 5-2 win over the University of San Diego on Friday. USC posted a 2-1 record in action at the USTA/ITA National Team Indoor Championships the previous week.
Playing in the No. 1 slot for USC is last year's NCAA Runner-up George Bastl, who is currently ranked No. 23 in the nation and owns a 10-4 overall and 6-3 dual record. Patrick Gottesleben has also seen action in the No. 1 slot and owns a 12-4 overall record. Also among the national rankings for USC is No. 54 Kyle Spencer, who teams with Bastl as the nation's No. 48 ranked tandem and holds the No. 1 doubles slot for USC.
Earlier vs. USC
UCLA traveled to USC on Feb. 13 and suffered a close 3-4 upset, losing to USC for the first time since 1994. The Bruins were still struggling to find the right pairings in doubles, thus lost that point. In singles UCLA claimed wins on court Nos. 2, 3 and 5 to take a 3-2 advantage with two matches going into third sets. Vince Allegre defeated Patrick Gottesleben 6-3, 7-5 at No. 2. Matt Breen claimed a 6-3, 6-2 win over Kyle Spencer at No. 3 and Brandon Kramer won 6-1, 6-0 over Christoph Poehler at No. 5. The only straight-set loss for UCLA was the first dual match set back for Jean-Noel Grinda who fell to NCAA Runner-up George Bastl 6-2, 6-2 in the No. 1 slot. USC claimed both three-setters as Fernando Samayo evened the team score by holding off Chris Sands 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 on court No. 6. The decisive match saw Roman Kukal rally from a 2-3 deficit in the third to defeat Alex Decret 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 in the No. 4 slot.
The Bruins Last Week ... UCLA Defeats Fresno State
Claiming the doubles point for the third consecutive match, UCLA got off to a solid start en route to a 5-2 win over No. 37 Fresno State. Jean-Noel Grinda sealed the victory with his victory at No. 1, while Matt Breen, Chris Sands and Noah Newman also won.
Notables
UCLA's 4-3 victory over Florida on Feb. 21 marked the 100th dual-match win in the career of Bruin head coach Billy Martin.
Jason Cook, who played No. 4 in the first four matches of the season, injured his right wrist on Mon., Jan. 26 and has not played since. Although his return date has not yet been determined, Cook is recovering and should return soon.
The next edition of the ITA nation team and individual rankings will be released on Tuesday, March 10.
Looking Ahead
The Bruins play host to Wisconsin on Wed., Mar. 11 in a 1:30 p.m. match at the LATC before packing for their first Pac-10 Conference road action of the season. UCLA plays six consecutive matches on the road starting at ASU on Mar. 13 and Arizona on Mar. 14.
UCLA Quick Facts
Team National Ranking: No. 2-Fall edition
Team's Dual Match Record: 8-3
Pac-10 Record: 2-1
Head Coach: Billy Martin
Current Career Dual-match Record:101-20
Last Year's Record: 25-4 overall, 9-1 Pac-10
Final Team Ranking: Region - 2, Nation - 3