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  BRIDGET O'BRIEN/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Jean-Noel Grinda returns the ball during Regionals earlier this month.

By Greg Schain

Daily Bruin Contributor

UCLA men’s tennis team’s season started with a phase of happiness and serenity for a long time, but became grueling and painful at the end.

The team had high hopes at the beginning of the season. UCLA was ranked No. 3 in preseason polls and then moved to No. 1 after beating Stanford in the finals of the National Indoor Championships.

The Bruins were ranked No. 1 for nine straight weeks after that, compiling only one loss in a dual match to Stanford at the Los Angeles Tennis Center. But on April 21, the Bruins suffered a second loss to Stanford and dropped to No. 3 by the end of the season.

They went into the NCAA Championships with a 20-2 record, with both losses coming at the hands of the Cardinal. But then again, when they played Stanford, they weren’t at full strength either time.

Going into the NCAA Tournament in Athens, Ga., every Bruin was healthy and the team was confident in their chances to take home a national championships.

“I really think we have as good a chance this year as we have since I’ve been here (starting in 1993),” UCLA Head Coach Billy Martin said.

The Bruins won Regionals, and went to Athens with high hopes. But after a win against Washington in the Round of 16, UCLA unexpectedly fell in a heartbreaking 4-3 loss to Southern Methodist.

With the match tied at 3-3, sophomore Travis Rettenmaier went into a tiebreaker in the third set. After dropping the first six points in the tiebreaker, Rettenmaier fought back to take the next five before succumbing to his opponent.

“It was a very disappointing loss,” sophomore Jean-Julien Rojer said. “We had high expectations, and we worked hard and we expected to do better.”

Despite the disappointing finish to the season, there were many positives that came out of this season for the team.

First was the emergence of many young stars. Namely, freshmen Tobias Clemens and Marcin Matkowski.

Clemens started out the season strong, but suffered the first injury of his career after diving for a ball in a match at USC. After being out for over a month, he came back rusty, losing to Washington and College of the Desert. But by the time the NCAA Tournament came around, he was back in top form.

Clemens went 9-3 in dual match play and was 18-8 overall.

“If Tobias hadn’t gotten injured, I think he would have won (All Pac-10 honors),” Martin said. “But I was very happy with the job he did.”

Matkowski also emerged as a future star on the team. After arriving in January, he started the season at No. 6 singles but quickly moved up to No. 4 after proving his talent. Overall, Matkowski posted a 16-3 singles record and teamed with Rettenmaier at No. 2 doubles to post a 16-4 record. The duo claimed the Pacific Coast Doubles Championships in March.

“He did a great job in both singles and doubles for us,” Martin said. “To have him for another three years is great.”

Another positive this season was the outstanding play of Rojer, who emerged as a team leader. From the first dual match, he earned the top singles spot on the team after having an impressive fall season.

Though only 7-8 in dual match play, Rojer was 23-16 overall and provided invaluable team spirit and support for the whole squad.

“He led the team by his competitive spirit,” Martin said. “He is definitely a leader on the court.”

Rojer finished the season ranked No. 13 in the nation in singles, but fell in the Round of 16 in the NCAA singles championships.

Senior Jean-Noel Grinda finished his four-year UCLA career on a solid note, posting a 13-6 in dual match play and going 28-11 overall. Although it wasn’t his best year, Grinda anchored the No. 2 singles spot throughout the season.

“Jean-Noel didn’t have a great year,” Martin said. “He would be the first one to admit it.”

Grinda will not give the pro tour a shot. Instead, he is going to follow his father into business.

Everyone but Grinda and senior Chris Sands, who didn’t start this season, will probably return to the squad next year. UCLA also has a couple of new recruits coming, including Alberto Francis. Francis, from Texas, is one of the top juniors in the United States and won the U.S. Open junior doubles title two years ago.

Therefore, the whole team is confident for next year’s outlook.

“We will be pretty strong if everyone comes back next year,” Rojer said. “We are getting some new recruits. Even though we lose Grinda, we should be one of the top teams next year.”

Martin echoes Rojer’s optimism.

“I am hopeful for next year. We should be a top five team,” Martin said. “There is no better way to forget the disappointment (of this season) than by looking ahead to next season.”