Eligibility of Bruins’ Clemens Questioned

As the NCAA men’s tennis championships open this weekend, the UCLA program finds itself part of an inquiry by the organization regarding the amateur status of one of its players.

The NCAA is looking into whether Tobias Clemens, the Bruins’ top singles player, accepted money in any professional events in his native Germany before arriving in Westwood. Clemens has a No. 5 national ranking by the Intercollegiate Tennis Assn.

It is part of a wide-ranging investigation into foreign-born players on the collegiate level. UCLA concluded that Clemens did not violate any NCAA rules and allowed him to participate in Saturday’s third-round match against Oklahoma State in Athens, Ga.

“The information we have been able to gather contradicts the information that the NCAA has,” UCLA spokesman Marc Dellins said. “At this point, we feel we have no reason to hold Tobias out. We don’t feel he did anything to professionalize himself.”

According to school officials, Clemens played on a club level team in a “bundes-league” for several years. UCLA Coach Billy Martin said he has letters from the league stating it does not consider itself on the pro level.

“What we want to do ... is to make sure within the powers the membership has that the athletes that are competing are truly amateurs,” NCAA spokesman Jeff Howard said.

Martin said he is troubled by the timing of the investigation, alleging that it was spurred on by coaches at other schools competing in the NCAA tournament.

“You’d be foolish to think that this isn’t possibly done by some schools to get a competitive advantage,” he said.

Foreign-born players fill out numerous teams across the country. Only four schools in the original 64-team tournament field -- Stanford, Wake Forest, Illinois and Miami -- have all-American rosters. Stanford and Illinois are still alive in the tournament.

UCLA is also looking into the eligibility of Sarah Gregg, a sophomore from England. Last week, the NCAA ruled two Northwestern female players, also from England, in violation of a rule stipulating that student-athletes must enroll in college within a year of their high school graduation or lose a season of eligibility.