UCLA’s Lin Won’t Be a Top-Spin Doctor

Caroline and Yi-do Lin have seen their son Eric play hundreds of singles matches over the years, but they couldn’t remember his forehand ever letting him down.

“I’m not used to seeing him miss so many easy shots,” Caroline said. “His forehand is usually his best shot.”

When Lin left the court after his 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) loss to Washington’s Nick Quatrochi in the first round of the Pac-10 men’s invitational singles tournament Thursday at Libbey Park South, Yi-do Lin kidded his son that his forehand looked a lot like his dad’s.

But there was no disappointment in Caroline’s or Yi-do’s eyes after Eric’s match. Only pride and joy.

“It doesn’t matter anymore,” Caroline Lin said. “He knows what he wants to do in life.”

And tennis is not it.

In a few months, Eric Lin, a former star for Canyon High, will graduate from UCLA with a degree in physiological science and a grade-point average of 3.5. Shortly after, Lin will find out whether he has been accepted into UCLA or USC medical school. A missed forehand, an errant backhand slice wouldn’t compare to the disappointment of being turned down for medical school.

“We’re hoping and praying,” UCLA men’s tennis Coach Billy Martin said. “We’re doing everything we can to help his chances. We’ve probably been his biggest detriment to achieving that. I just hope they’re considerate of that, what he’s been doing while going to college.”

What Lin’s been doing is juggling two careers. He whacks a tennis ball during the afternoons, then spends the rest of his day studying and practicing to become a doctor. To improve his resume and gain experience, Lin has spent more than 100 hours volunteering in hospital emergency rooms.

The juggling act has not been easy.

“The coaches have their objectives and I have mine,” said Lin, who is thinking of specializing in sports medicine or orthopedics. “Maybe it’s been harder because they’re not so accustomed to it. Most players view tennis as a steppingstone to the pros. There have been some rough times between me and [Martin].”

Said Yi-do Lin: “The coach told me he didn’t understand why a kid would come to UCLA and not want to turn pro.”

Martin admitted he may have made some mistakes with Lin.

“It made it difficult because his first year was mine too,” said Martin, who replaced longtime UCLA coach Glen Bassett. “I was probably more uptight than I needed to be. We’ve got different personalities. I’m high-strung, he’s really low-key. We’ve had some problems, but I don’t feel that way about this year. I think we’re both working toward the same goal for the first time.”

Lin would have liked to be working toward that goal with a little more scholarship money in his pocket, but it hasn’t happened. He was given a partial scholarship when he signed but he said Martin promised to increase his scholarship if one of the top three players left for the pro tour. One player left, but Lin’s scholarship was never increased.

This year, Lin said he is only getting his books paid for by UCLA’s athletic department.

“I think I handled it all pretty well,” Lin said. “I could have been upset and quit, or transferred, but I wanted to stay at UCLA. I thought I could still contribute to the team and do some things individually.”

Lin, who is a co-captain for the No. 1-ranked Bruins, said he also sees Martin’s side.

“I came in here ranked pretty high in the nation in the juniors,” said Lin, who was rated eighth in the boys’ 18s. “I think he was expecting a lot more. As the years have gone on, he’s been able to see the other side more.”

Lin’s best side this season has easily been his doubles play. He is ranked third in the nation with childhood friend Kevin Kim, a freshman from Sunny Hills. Lin and Kim have won two tournaments and are the top-seeded team in the Pac-10 doubles tournament that starts today.

“From the beginning, their chemistry has been unbelievable,” Martin said.

Lin will play Ojai, the NCAA’s team championships and then he will end his competitive tennis career playing in the NCAA individual doubles tournament with Kim at UCLA.

Will he ever doubt his career decision?

“A lot of people tell me, ‘You will look back and wish you had devoted more time to tennis and tried to play pro tennis,’ ” Lin said. “But I feel good about my choices. I’m doing what I want to do. I don’t know if the life of a pro tennis player is for me. It’s nice to dream about being Pete Sampras, but it’s not realistic.”

And that’s why the Lins had smiles on their faces as their son walked off the court Thursday.

Notes

Dana Hills senior Brandon Fallon had to pull out of the boys’ interscholastic singles tournament with tendinitis in his right elbow. Fallon has been in so much pain recently he has been serving underhanded. “I would play, if it didn’t count for rankings,” Fallon said. “I also don’t want to injure it anymore. I hate watching and not being able to play.” Fallon has signed with Nevada Las Vegas. . . . Top-seeded Andrew Park of Sunny Hills also withdrew. He has a stress fracture in his leg. County players advancing to the third round were Chris Chung of Sunny Hills, Joost Hol of Foothill and Ryan Moore of Servite. Those advancing to the third round in the girls’ 18 singles were top-seeded Faye DeVera of Villa Park, Allison Arvizu of Huntington Beach, Lara Spica of Dana Hills, Rachel Gunther of Woodbridge and Sarah Denson of Irvine. . . . In the boys’ 16 singles, top-seeded Cody Jackson of Los Alamitos advanced to the second round, as did Melissa Esmero of Mater Dei, Caylan Leslie of Corona del Mar and Danielle Hustedt of Woodbridge in the girls’ 16.