OJAI VALLEY TENNIS TOURNAMENT: UCLA'S MATKOWSKI ROLLS.

Byline: Lauren Gustus Staff Writer

OJAI - By the time mid-afternoon tea was served at Ojai's Libbey Park on Sunday, it was clear Marcin Matkowski would defend UCLA's Pacific-10 Conference men's singles title at the 103rd Ojai Valley Tennis Tournament.

The top-seeded Matkowski, who won the doubles title last year at Ojai, used a superior service game to earn a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Alex Vlaski of Washington.

Vlaski led 3-1 in the first set but was unable to hold the lead. Matkowski won the final game on Vlaski's serve and carried the momentum into the second set.

Both Matkowski, from Poland, and Vlaski, from Serbia-Montenegro, play power-oriented games. The Europeans' success hinged on big serves throughout the week, but Matkowski's was more reliable Sunday; he had nine aces to Vlaski's two.

``I try to overpower my opponents,'' Matkowski said. ``I'm not the kind of guy who runs the baseline. When I have the shot, I have to take it.''

Matkowski was concerned he still might be recuperating from a trip in early April to South Africa, where he played in a Davis Cup tie for Poland. But the trip turned out to be a nonfactor.

``When I first got back I was really tired,'' Matkowski said. ``But now I am playing really solid. I am playing my best tennis.''

For the second consecutive year, Vlaski finished second to a UCLA player; he lost to Rodrigo Grilli in 2002.

``People will say I should be unhappy because I finished second, but I played well,'' Vlaski said. ``I will try again next year.''

Daria Panova from Oregon defeated Raquel Kops-Jones of California 7-6 (8-6), 6-2 for the women's Pac-10 singles championship.