M. Tennis: Tennis teams look to build on past successes @supost.com

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Date: Thu, Jan 11, 2007, 08:00 AM

With their sights set on the NCAA Championship this year, the UCLA men?s tennis team is even more capable of accomplishing the feat than they were a year ago. However, it?s not because of the addition of any players to the already talented and deep lineup. Nor is it because of the return of any particular individual. In fact, this year?s team is almost identical to that of last year. ?Our team didn?t change that much,? senior Philipp Gruendler said. ?No guys left, so UCLA should still be up there.? The Bruins are actually considered to be one of the top teams, landing a No. 4 preseason ranking behind Georgia, Baylor and Ohio State. Still, the ranking was lower than coach Billy Martin had expected, though he acknowledged the talent of Georgia?s team after it acquired the University of Texas? top-seeded player, No. 22 Travis Helgeson. But seeing Ohio State?s ranking was a slight surprise for Martin, as the Buckeyes lost two of their top six players and arguably one of the top doubles teams in the nation for the past few years. The Bruins aren?t letting the ranking negatively affect their approach to the season, though, as they use it as another source of motivation to return to the top of the collegiate game as they had in 2005. ?I expected to be No. 1 or No. 2, but it will motivate us to prove ourselves,? sophomore Haythem Abid said. ?It?s good because people don?t expect us to be too solid, but I think we will be.? There is a noticeable difference in the atmosphere around practices this season, even though there have only been a handful thus far. There is a different mind-set around the courts of the Los Angeles Tennis Center. The Bruins know what they are capable of and are doing everything they can to get to that ultimate goal of a national title. ?We know we have a good chance so we don?t want to let the small things affect us,? Abid said. ?We try to play our best and be in shape everyday so we can be ready for the last week of the season. We?re in the mood to practice as hard as we can to do as well as we can.? Though the Bruin lineup is up in the air for the most part, the No. 1 spot will most likely be filled by senior Benjamin Kohlloeffel, who won the NCAA men?s singles championship last season and defended his Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships title during the fall season. Kohlloeffel was ranked No. 5 in the Fila Collegiate Tennis Rankings on Tuesday behind four players he has already defeated in his tenure as a Bruin. Joining Kohlloeffel in the rankings is fellow senior Chris Surapol, who checks in at No. 27. Surapol is coming off a fall season to remember and is on a hunt to capture an elusive 100th career singles win at UCLA, sitting at 82 prior to the dual match season. ?It would really mean a lot to me, individually, to get to 100 wins,? Surapol said. ?I?m looking forward to leading this group of guys.? But as far as the rest of the lineup is concerned, Martin will have to pay close attention to how the members of the team fare in this weekend?s tournaments prior to making a decision. ?My D-Day is the afternoon of the 17th, when I announce our lineup for the match on the 18th,? Martin said. ?I?ve got another (six) days to go before I have a lot of guys not liking me too much.? Some of this year?s frontrunners for the spots are likely to be last year?s returners: Kohlloeffel, Abid, junior Mathieu Dehaine, Surapol, sophomore Michael Look and senior Philipp Gruendler. But regardless of which six players get chosen for the singles lineup, only one result is expected ? a national title. ?Our expectations are very, very high,? Martin said. ?I think we feel we have a good chance to win the NCAA Championships. Much better than I thought we did last year. We?re really shooting for the stars and we have a good chance.? <a href='; target='_blank'>;