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After competing at the National Team Indoors last week and having the Southern California rain keep them from practicing, the Bruins were more than eager to return outdoors for two key matches over the weekend.

The clear skies returned long enough for the No. 4 Bruins to edge out No. 18 Stanford, 4-3, on Friday and shut out California, 7-0, on Saturday.

With the victories, UCLA improved to 12-1 on the season, still boasting an unblemished record at the Los Angeles Tennis Center this season.

“(Cal and Stanford) are two good teams so it’s always good to get a win over both of them, especially against Stanford,” senior Chris Lam said.

“It was really close so it was a good win for us.”

The downpour early last week had kept the Bruins from practicing at the LATC, so UCLA coach Billy Martin had some worries about how the team would react against the Cardinal after not playing a match outdoors since Feb. 8.

Martin’s premonitions about rust seemed to be warranted on Friday, as the Bruins quickly fell behind 1-0 to Stanford after losing the doubles’ point when UCLA’s No. 1 team of senior Luben Pampoulov and sophomore Benjamin Kohlloeffel fell 9-7 to the defending NCAA-champion doubles team of Sam Warburg and KC Corkery.

But, just like the weather, UCLA quickly turned its fortunes around, winning three singles matches in straight sets to take the match lead.

Kohlloeffel, who defeated 31st-ranked Corkery 6-2, 6-0, enjoyed the experience of competing against Stanford after sitting out the showdown with the Cardinal last season.

“There’s kind of a rivalry there between Stanford and UCLA,” Kohlloeffel said. “It was just so much fun to play. It was great to get a close win, it was perfect.”

After a disappointing showing at the National Team Indoors, Friday’s tough match against Stanford may have been just what the Bruins needed to regain some competitive spirit.

UCLA used the momentum from its victory over the Cardinal to thoroughly outplay California one day later.

“I thought we looked a little bit sharper (Saturday) which I knew we probably would,” Martin said. “I thought we looked a lot more comfortable out here. I feel like we played a bit better as the match went along.”