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2006 Season:
Record: 20-6 overall, 6-1 Pac-10 (conference co-champion with Stanford)
Final Ranking: 7
Notable Win: Illinois, 4-2 (third round, NCAA)
Notable Loss: Pepperdine (twice, Feb 10 and fourth round NCAA)
Baylor (March 11), @Washington (April 15)
Individual Honor
NCAA Singles Champion: Ben Kohlloeffel
All American: Ben Kohlloeffel, PHilipp Gruendler
All Pac-10: Ben Kohlloeffel, Haythem Abid, Chris Surapol
Overall, another successful year, but for the ultra high UCLA standard, underachieved. After four players graduated from last year’s national champion team, it was a tall order to repeat, but the national field is getting stronger every year, and Pac-10 is does not have a tight grip on the national picture it once had on tennis.
Still, Ben’s singles championship is a great accomplishment, one of the biggest highlight of the season. It’s the first singles title since 1975, when the current coach Billy Martin won it as a freshman.
Though talented, this has been a young, inexperienced team at the start of thes eason. They became seasoned, experienced team in the end, holding high hope for the next 2007 season.
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