April 10, 1998 SEATTLE - Washington's 29th-ranked men's tennis team defeated eighth-ranked UCLA, 5-2, to up its record to 13-5 and 2-3 in the Pac-10 Conference. The win marked Washington's first ever victory over UCLA (12-6, 5-4 Pac-10) in 12 meetings. The Huskies are 10-5 versus ranked opponents this season and have won seven out of their last nine matches while the Bruins suffer their third straight loss. Washington holds a 7-0 record in the Nordstrom Tennis Center.
The Huskies won five of six singles matches despite the Bruins touting four singles players in the top-100. The Huskies only loss was in the No. 3 singles slot. Junior Eric Drew, ranked 86th in the nation, turned the tide of the match by virtue of his 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 victory over UCLA's 12th-ranked Jean-Noel Grinda in No. 1 singles action. Drew (16-7 overall) fought back after trailing 4-1 in the third set to win in a tie-break, 7-4. Drew's win put Washington ahead 3-2, one point within an upset with two matches left to play.
The match came down to freshman Marius Lunde's 7-5, 4-6, 6-0 victory over 84th-ranked Jason Cook in No. 5 singles action. With the final point of the third set in the books, Lunde threw his cap into the air as teammates surrounded him in celebration.
"I'm real excited," said Lunde after his match-clinching victory. "The team was fired up this whole week. I'm usually calm but everyone was pumped up and the crowd gave us great support. I love it when people come out and scream."
"It's a breakthrough win for us," added head coach Matt Anger. "Historically, the three top schools are UCLA, USC and Stanford and this is our first win over one of those powers. It was great for us to fight like we did."
Freshman Robert Kendrick, ranked 66th in the nation, upped his record to 23-8 with a 7-6, 6-4 win over UCLA's 10th-ranked Vincent Allegre in No. 2 singles and Sasha Rampazzo came back from 4-0 in the third set to defeat UCLA's Alex Decret 6-7, 6-3, 6-4.
Washington returns to action tomorrow at noon versus No. 9 USC (14-5). Matches will be held on the Washington campus at the Denny Tennis Courts if weather permits. If it is raining, matches will be held in the Nordstrom Tennis Center. UCLA 2 Washington 5 |
