UCLA Gets Blitzed by Stanford Singles

ATHENS, Ga. —  It happened so fast Tuesday, UCLA tennis All-American Justin Gimelstob simply stood with a shocked look on his face.

With the score tied, 1-1, UCLA lost matches at No. 5 singles, No. 4 singles and No. 3 singles in a matter of four minutes. Just like that, the previously unbeaten Bruins saw their season turn to ruin in a 4-1 loss to Stanford in the NCAA championship match at the University of Georgia.

“I was so involved in my match, I had no idea what was going on,” Gimelstob said. “I was shocked. It went quickly.”

The singles victories by Stanford’s Ricky Becker over Vincent Allegre, Grant Elliott over Matt Breen, Jim Thomas over Heath Montgomery and Ryan Wolters over Eric Taino made play meaningless in the Nos. 1 and 2 singles.

The Bruins were 27-0, No. 1 in the country and had beaten the Cardinal three times this season. But when Stanford’s Wolters finished off Taino, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, in the No. 3 singles, the Cardinal had their second consecutive national title and 12th since the team format was introduced in 1977.

“We were pushing our luck, maybe a little bit, thinking four times in a row against Stanford,” UCLA Coach Billy Martin said. “I thought we could do it again.”

The match at No. 3 singles was pivotal. In the three previous matches, UCLA’s Taino had a 3-0 mark against Stanford. In fact, the Bruins’ top three players--Gimelstob, Srdjan Muskatirovic and Taino--were 9-0 against the Cardinal’s top three.

But Taino faded in the third set of his match. It was 2-2 when Wolters surged and won four games to clinch the set and the match.

“I think I gave it to him,” Taino said. “It was up to me to win or lose and I just lost it.”

UCLA won a hard-fought point in doubles. Gimelstob and Muskatirovic won the No. 1 doubles match, 9-8, and UCLA’s Matt Breen and Taino won the No. 3 doubles, 9-7. The No. 2 doubles match was suspended with the score 8-8.

“I really felt coming into the match that we had to win the doubles point,” Stanford Coach Dick Gould said.

The only consolation for UCLA is that the sophomore Gimelstob, the top-ranked college player in the country, said he will rethink his decision to turn professional.

“Before I came here, I would have said a guaranteed yes [of going pro], but if Eric [Taino] wants to stay another year, I’ll stay,” Gimelstob said. “When I came to UCLA I intended on winning a national championship for myself, for Billy, for the school, and I’ve never ended anything in my career this disappointed.”