Gimelstob Gets Upset, Phebus Wins for UCLA

UCLA’s Justin Gimelstob arrived in Athens, Ga., for the NCAA tennis championships favored to win a team championship with the Bruins and an individual championship on his own. He got neither.

The UCLA All-American, seeded first in the 64-player individual tournament and the dominant player in college tennis this season, was upset in the opening round Wednesday, 6-3, 6-2, by Wichita State’s Phil Cooper. Cooper, 23, from Birmingham, England, was not ranked among the top 100 players in the country.

Gimelstob’s loss came the day after UCLA’s unbeaten season was stopped in the national championship match of the team tournament by Stanford.

“The team was what hurt, it hurt me a lot,” Gimelstob said. “I guess I just didn’t get over it and get ready to play. I came out flat; it was more mental than physical. It’s a shame, but he played a good match.”

“It’s been a long week.”

Gimelstob is the first No. 1 seed to fall in the first round since MaliVai Washington of Michigan lost to Georgia’s Francisco Montana in 1989.

Cooper, a 23-year-old junior from Birmingham, England, startled the crowd at the University of Georgia tennis center by taking a 5-0 lead in the first set.

“He wasn’t ready for me, I could tell,” Cooper said. “The guy gave me the first five games. Then he started making some shots, but I kept doing what I was doing and I kept doing it well. I kept attacking him; I wasn’t going to sit back there and let him hammer me with ground strokes.”

In another singles match, No. 4 Cecil Mamiit of USC defeated David Roditi of Texas Christian, 6-4, 6-1.

The second round continues today and doubles play begins.