Sznajder Takes Back Seat This Year, but Only to Weiss : They’re Expected to Give Pepperdine Powerful 1-2 Punch in NCAA Men’s Tennis Tourney

There isn’t anyone who doesn’t like Robby Weiss, says Pepperdine Coach Allen Fox. Well . . . except maybe one guy.

That guy should have been his teammate, Andrew Sznajder. On almost any other team in the country, Sznajder would play No. 1 singles. In fact, he plays No. 1 for a country. The Pepperdine sophomore has been Canada’s top singles player the last two years in Davis Cup competition.

At Malibu, he was No. 1 in 1987 and was named rookie player of the year by the Intercollegiate Tennis Coaches Assn. Sznajder was projected to be the No. 1 player in the country this season. But, by January, he wasn’t even No. 1 on his own team as Weiss began his re-emergence.

Weiss, a senior, won three straight tournaments in January, earning one title with a victory over Sznajder in the Citrus Bowl final. He had a 17-0 record during that stretch, and also nearly upset veteran tour player John Fitzgerald of Australia in the Newsweek Champions Cup at Indian Wells in March.

So, Fox wasn’t exactly going to tell the No. 1 collegiate player in the country to take a seat behind Sznajder. Giving Sznajder the word was tougher.

“It hasn’t been too stressful,” Weiss said. “On a different team, it would be a lot worse. Andrew is handling it well where he is in the lineup.”

Said Sznajder: “Rob and I get along well. We root for each other. We’ve played doubles together most of the season. Even when we play against each other, we talk the next day. In all the time I’ve been here, we’ve never got into one argument.”

Fox, who teaches psychology at the school and writes about it for Tennis magazine, doesn’t only talk theory with his team. He uses it during matches. He and co-coach Richard Gallien were largely responsible for helping Sznajder realize his role with the Waves, but Fox says Weiss helped, too.

“It’s been rough for Andrew because he was the top star last year,” Fox said. “But of all the people to play ahead of you, Robby would be the one. He’s hard to get riled up against. He isn’t cocky. So that’s helped. Andrew has made an effort because it’s his nature to be antagonistic.”

There were tough spots en route to making the No. 4-ranked Pepperdine team one happy family. Gallien and Fox pulled Sznajder off the court during a match against Kansas in March, which finally seemed to deliver the message.

Though both will turn professional after the NCAA tournament, there is a difference between the Waves’ one-two punch on the court and off it. Sznajder, whose forehand travels with the same kind of velocity of a Lendl or an Agassi, only not as consistently, goes for the knockout on every shot. Then there’s Weiss. He’ll win his matches by letting his opponent knock himself down.

Sznajder, who is 22-5 in dual matches and ranked No. 4 nationally, can alternate between greatness and mediocrity in the same week.

While Sznajder is more high-strung on the court, Weiss is apt to compliment his opponent for a good shot.

Which brings us to the one player who doesn’t like Weiss, according to Fox:

“Rob is sweet. He’s like Bambi. There’s nothing antagonistic about him. Other than (USC’s) Scott Melville, I don’t think there’s anyone who doesn’t like him.”

Here are three reasons the No. 2-ranked Melville might hold a bit of a grudge:

--January. Weiss defeated Melville, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, to earn a spot in the men’s Grand Prix tournament at Indian Wells.

--March 8. Weiss defeated Melville, 5-7, 6-3, 6-2.

--March 27. Weiss defeated Melville, 7-6, 6-4.

So here are the numbers as the Waves (24-4) head into today’s round-of-16 match against Tennessee in the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. team championships here at the University of Georgia. Weiss is 25-1 in dual matches and 22-0 in tournament play this year.

“If I hadn’t had such a bad year (in 1987), I would have been thinking about turning pro,” said Weiss, who had shoulder problems, a debilitating infection and a broken thumb last season. “But I had a lot to prove to myself.”

Sznajder was the one proving himself, but he didn’t win the NCAA singles title last year. The courts at the University of Georgia are somewhat slow, slower than Sznajder and many of the other Southern California players would like. But Weiss? His game is suited to the courts. Still, neither Fox nor Gallien is making any rash predictions.

“It’s tough,” Gallien said. “It’s always a tournament filled with upsets. If I were to bet on anyone, it would be Robby first and Andrew second.”

Which, when you think about the Waves’ season, makes sense.