THE FINAL BLOG: Once a Bruin, Always a Bruin [Season Recap and More]

It has been a little over 24 hours since our 5-hour marathon loss to Baylor occurred in the NCAA Round of 16 up here in Palo Alto. Last night it was mere shock but today it has been anything but–I woke up nauseated thinking about how close we were and how we won’t be playing another match. The pain is still there like a stinging rebuke to my insides. Admittedly, I feel horribly empty with how we ended the season with so much tennis left to be played. And most troublesome, my heart still heavily aches just thinking about “what could have been.”

But as the saying goes, time heals all wounds…and surely the sheer hurt from this match will subside. And once that pain, that disappointment, that frustration, and that hurt disappears, pride will take its place; pride for our school, pride from of our effort, pride for each other. As Coach Martin said in our post-match meeting late last night, we have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of and absolutely everything to be proud of. We all fought with every ounce of our hearts and souls and laid it out there on the court (and in the stands); we lost to a great Baylor team who literally won one more point than we did. And that is sports–a game of inches. Coach Martin always said–and reiterated at our final meeting–that it takes courage to put yourselves out there for that jubilating win and yes, that heartbreaking loss. We did that and unfortunately, ended up on the wrong side of the equation. But again, this “heartbreak” will fade and the pride for what we did accomplish and the courage we did show–together–will grow.

You know, some people say that all of this tennis business is about winning an NCAA Championship. And you know what else? Two or three years ago, I would have completely agreed with that statement. Heck, I would have been willing to do just about anything for that coveted NCAA ring and to waive that championship banner. And in many ways I still would, no doubt. But as I leave college tennis forever (I think, at least), I’ve grown to realize it not really about winning the championship. Sure, don’t get me wrong, winning would of been beyond amazing and extremely memorable; I’m the most competitive guy in the world and I still can’t stand losing. Yet, while we might of lost on paper, we did not lose as people–as growing adolescents in this thing called life. Because playing sports and being part of team–no, part of an institution such as UCLA tennis and a program with such great people–is about so much more. It’s about personal growth, learning responsibility, developing a work ethic, trusting other people, and pouring your heart (and every ounce of sweat, in this case) into something that you can be proud of and forever a part of. Seeing alumni who played for UCLA thirty years ago and just a few years ago is downright inspiring. Simply put, I am a drastically different person than I was when I started with the team four quick seasons ago–and a better person because of those four years. No, I didn’t win a championship that I wanted and truthfully, thought I would be a part of when I started. But, what I understand now, is that I gave this team and this program everything I could and got out of it everything and more. And in return, I received lasting friendships, unforgettable memories, and grew as not just a competitor and manager–or in many players’ cases, as an athlete–but as a person navigating college and navigating who I was as I grew up from a kid to a young adult.

There is so much to say about this match, this season, and my own experience as a Bruin the last four years–you know me, I could write forever. But what I also have understood is that it is not about me or about any one person, but about the team and the life of this program. As Coach Martin also always says and knows from experience, college sports are a “revolving door.” Myself, Amit, and Holden may all be gone next year, but UCLA tennis will carry on–with new bloodlines and new players, but with the same excitement and passion. Such is the life of college sports and no matter how unfortunate it is, it is the reality we all must embrace.

And on that note, this may seem like a “goodbye post,” but truthfully, it is not–it is only a “see you later” type of message. Players will be gone and I will move into the next stage of my life (I will be pursuing a Masters degree at Columbia University in New York), but not without a lasting passion and portion of my heart always dedicated to UCLA tennis. We may not have won the big championship this year, but I won by being a part of such an amazing community of people–and to “manage” (so to speak) under such incredible, warm, and caring coaches. We all win by being a part of UCLA tennis. It is this connection and spirit that for me and for all of us will never, ever fade. It is why we drive up 500 miles to see the Bruins play and why we wear the blue and gold with so much exuberance on and off the court. And above all, it is why Bruin tennis will only continue to get stronger in the months and years ahead.

Before I sign off one final time, it is only appropriate to discuss a few pressing matters. First, I want to congratulate both Amit Inbar and Holden Seguso on extraordinary Bruin careers. Both gave much to UCLA tennis and each had some enormous moments that I know each will cherish–I speak on behalf of Bruin nation when we say “thank you” for all you have given to this program. All the best in the years to come. No matter where life takes both of you, each will always be a Bruin.

And second, good luck to next year’s team–truthfully, in my heart of hearts I know it will be a special year for UCLA tennis. And not just because of the insane amount of talent coming back on next years team, but because of the character of each returning player. Daniel, Clay, Adrien, Alex, Warren, Max, and Nick, you all have extremely bright futures in this sport and are each going to do special things next year and in years to come. We all cannot wait to watch it all! You have everyone’s support as you continue (or conclude) your Bruin careers.

Last of all, thank YOU, our loyal Bruin supporters for everything–I personally am indebted to your support and I know the team is too. I talk about how special it is to be a Bruin, and YOU are all the reason why. So thank you for all you do for this team and a personal thank you for reading (and commenting) on this blog. I hope to stay in touch with you all and you can of course follow me on my personal blog, too, which I will shift over to immediately.

Anyway, it is with a deep sense of gratitude and humility that I sign off one final time as a member of the UCLA Bruin tennis team; it is still hard to believe how fast four years have flown by and hard to accurately reflect on all my emotions and feelings in one final (and readable!) blog post. The only appropriate thing to sum everything up is through a simple, but powerful phrase that my high school English teacher once told my class. It was from a poem and he said that no matter what we do in life, MAY GREAT KINDNESS OF IT IN THE END. Well, my friends, as I have hit the end of my “official” Bruin tennis career, I can undoubtedly say that great kindness, indeed, came of it in the end.

GO BRUINS!

-Barry

Bruins fall 4-3 to Baylor in five hour thriller

Hard to put it all in words tonight Bruin nation–our journey stopped early, unfortunately. Thank you ALL for your support tonight…I will personally remember this night for years to come.

I’ll blog tomorrow with my final thoughts on everything. Heartbreaking (in every sense of the word) loss but extremely proud of the team–and even prouder to be a Bruin. Until tomorrow, good night and GO BRUINS.

Bruins lose VERY close doubles point

Ahhh, and we lose a close one…just it was RIGHT there for us. It was an absolute scream feat and chest pounder out there–unfortunately we came up points short. At the end of the day, they played better in the big points..and that was the only difference. We had an endless amount of break points and could just not convert.

But, we were a lot closer in doubles–only points away–compared to when we played them last so we feel good about it considering the outcome.

It’s down to singles and we need four wins–we did it before and we are going to do it again. LETS GO!!!!!

AND WE ARE OFF! UCLA v Baylor starting NOW!

We just did our pump up yell and the Bruins have taken the court–HERE WE GO!!!!!!

Bruins still waiting to go on…

…we could go on in ten minutes or an hour. Florida and Kentucky are in an epic match as the Wildcats lead 3-2. However, this thing is far from over because the other matches are not decided and who knows what could happen.

As for us, our hoard of Bruin fans are here! We are personally waiting in our waiting room for the word that it is over–we will probably have just 10 minutes from the end of this match until ours starts….so it’s a quick turn around and we cannot get complacent here.

I feel another classic UCLA-Baylor coming up soon…LETS GO!

PS I uploaded a few videos the last few hours on the YouTube channel, too.

Hour and half til match time!

Hey everyone, we are here at the practice courts at Stanford warming up for the match against Baylor. It turned out to be a really hot day, especially compared to the bad conditions yesterday. I know that the trainers have all the ice buckets and cold towels ready to go!

We are not sure the exact time we go on–it depends on when the matches before us finish. We will keep you updated but I think we are a bit delayed. Still, Coach is preparing us for start on time and we have to be ready no matter what.

LETS GO BRUINS! IT’S ALMOST HERE!!

It’s GAMEDAY! Bruins at breakfast

Good morning from PALO ALTO! I just got word from my parents who are flying up this morning that there are a band of Bruins in the airport. And while the Bruins are coming up, we are scooped into our routine–getting a bite at our favorite breakfast place Hobee’s along with other teams that are here.

We are loose and excited for the day! Not to mention relaxed–we have plenty of time to kill before we warm up before the match. GO BRUINS!

NCAA Round of 16 PREVIEW: #12 UCLA vs. #5 Baylor

It’s here, it’s finally here–the match we have been anticipating all week (and in essence) all year is tomorrow. It is hard to put in words what this means. We work all year hoping to make it to the Round of 16 for a chance at a championships. All those long hours on the court, in the waitroom, in the tutoring classroom, in the training room, in Coach’s office…we do it all for tomorrow and hopefully for a few more days after.

For me personally, and our seniors Holden and Amit, this is it–as they say! Our final chance for glory, redemption, and jubilation. Our final chance at an NCAA Championship. It all starts tomorrow. We have the Bruin faithful coming down to cheer us on in this quest and I am just so ecstatic that each and every one of you are coming up to Palo Alto; it means the world to me and of course, it means the world to the team. The Bruins mean business and here we come!

But, as dramatic as I make it out to be, Coach stressed in our nightly meeting that it is “still just tennis.” And he’s right–it’s still a match between two teams. Our opponent, appropriately enough, is the Baylor Bears; above all teams, we have had more recent history with them than any other. So here’s my scouting report on a team that we know well (and who know us well), too.

OPPONENT: #5 seeded Baylor Bears

CONFERENCE/RECORD: Big 12 Conference, 21-4 (6-0)

HEAD-TO-HEAD: UCLA is 3-6 all-time versus Baylor–one of the few times that the Bruins have an all0time losing record to. Our history with Baylor is intense and vivid as for whatever reasons, these two teams always seem to have the most epic matches. As it was written at UCLABruins.com:

“Whenever UCLA and Baylor square off in men’s tennis it’s guaranteed to be an exciting battle. The two teams have met nine times, with the last seven meetings decided by 4-3 scores.”

Date Winner Score Site
Feb. 6, 2011	UCLA	4-3	Waco
March 11, 2010	Baylor	4-3	Los Angeles
Feb. 22, 2009	Baylor	4-3	Waco
March 10, 2008	UCLA	4-3	Los Angeles
Feb. 10, 2007	Baylor	4-3	Waco
March 11, 2006	Baylor	4-3	Los Angeles
May 24, 2005	UCLA	4-3	College Station
May 25, 2004	Baylor	4-0	Tulsa
Feb. 26, 2004	Baylor	5-2	Los Angeles
As you can see, the matches always seem to come down to the final match at 3-all. In addition, we also have a special place in each other's recent history as Baylor defeated UCLA 4-0 in the finals of the NCAA Championships to win their first-ever NCAA title (in any sport) while a year later, we defeated then 4-3 for UCLA (and Coach Martin's first) first NCAA Championship in tennis since 1984. 

Most recently, we defeated Baylor 4-3 behind Clay Thompson's epic 3rd set match at Waco, TX, so we have confidence riding since we have beaten them once already. For a recap of that match, you can go HERE. Therefore, this match is a re-match of our early season clash, which again, was one of the most exciting--and closest--matches of the season.

KEY WINS: Win vs. Tennessee 4-3; Win vs. Stanford 5-2; Win at Texas 4-3; Win vs. Oklahoma 4-3

SCOUTING REPORT: Well, honestly, we know what to expect–we know their players quite well (and they know ours of course, too). They have an experienced lineup with three seniors to have been through these pressure-packed matches before and have undoubtedly gotten much better since when we beat them. Shortly after their loss to us, the dropped to #31 in the rankings! Obviously, we know how great of a team they are and that that ranking was absolutely ridiculous but it goes to show you that they finished the season so well and became a very high #5 seed behind the big wins I listed above. They are talented and capable of playing at a high level as evidenced by their results and high seed. In addition, they have changed pretty much their entire lineup compared to when we played them.

The Bears have five nationally ranked singles players and are led by #19th-ranked Senior John Peers, who has compiled an impressive 17-5 record this year in dual matches. After Peers, the  no. 2 player is Senior Sergio Ramirez, ranked 68th nationally and  13-9 in dual matches this year. Both Ramirez and Peers have experience and will look to start hot against us as they both won their matches when we played in Waco months ago. The other nationally ranked players are #97 Keke Grangeiro, #98 Dennis Lengsfeld, and #102 Roberto Maytin.

PREDICTION/COMMENTS: It’s the NCAA folks–it’s about who comes to play, who wants it more, and who is focused when it is all said and done. Baylor is a great team who we have had history with this year and in years past. And remember, they are the #5 seed for a reason and have put up some amazing results. No doubt they are going to be tough to beat….everyone is from here on out. But because of that, they are expected to win and have the pressure–not us and I think this is to our advantage, especially since we beat them early in the year. Granted, they are an entirely different team and we know it is going to take a great effort to beat these guys, but of course we know we can do so because we have done it before. I think doubles will be key because both teams have struggled in that aspect all year, so there is a lot to be said about who can jump out first–especially at NCAA’s. I can almost guarantee one thing though–no matter who wins, it will probably come down to the wire because it always does when the Bruins and Bears face off!

Anyway, I’m so excited to see many of you tomorrow for the match. And for those who cannot make it, you are with us in spirit! You can follow through Stanford’s LIVE Video and LIVE stats feed HERE. Of course, I’ll be blogging the best I can and Twitter-ing as well. It’s going to be tough to beat Baylor twice in one year, but we look forward to the challenge. LET’S GO BRUINS!!!!! IT’S GAME TIME!!!!!!!

NCAA Banquet pictures

As promised, here are a few pictures of and from the banquet. Great night of food and luxury!

Bruins finish their hit and relaxing before NCAA banquet

To follow up where I left off, we were able to hit at the Stanford courts where we will play tomorrow and there was definitely some good tennis that was being played. Seriously, everything really looks loose and there were a lot of smiles on the court. You always want to go into the night before the match knowing you prepared well and feeling well, and I feel confident that each of us feel that way. No new is good news, right? We went about our business today and have a few hours to relax before the NCAA team banquet tonight at 7:15pm with all 16 men’s and women’s team. It’s always a lot of fun seeing everyone dressed up and looking all spiffy–even hard to recognize some people!

Anyway, I’ll definitely blog tonight from the banquet and put up some pictures as it is always an exciting evening and fun to really feel the NCAA atmosphere. And later this evening when I get back, I’ll do a match preview on Baylor, too. GO BRUINS! 🙂