Women’s tennis serves up victory over Cougars
By Chris Isidro
A day after taking three matches from No. 11 USC, the Washington
State women’s tennis team stepped onto the Sunset Canyon Tennis
Courts with newfound bravado.
It wore off pretty quickly.
No. 7 UCLA powered past the Cougars 9-0, recording their third
sweep in three matches this season. While the victory was no
surprise, the Bruins displayed amazing efficiency Saturday
afternoon.
"We expected to win this way," said UCLA head coach Bill Zaima.
"But the number of games we gave up was very impressive considering
the fact that (the Cougars) played USC very tough yesterday.
Bagels abounded, starting at the top, as Keri Phebus cruised
past Emma Lin 6-0, 6-0 on court one. They continued down the ladder
as five of six Bruins won at least one set at love.
Jane Chi made her singles home debut in the No. 2 position and
had no problem disposing of Kameran Bender 6-2, 6-0.
The day belonged, however, to Anicia Mendez. Rising from her
sickbed to hit the court for the first time since last Sunday,
Mendez dropped the first set 3-6 to Cougar Sheetal Khanna as she
endured dizzy spells.
But Mendez screwed her head on tight as she opened the second
set with a service break. She didn’t look back from there as her
mobility returned and the Bruin junior peppered Khanna with deep
volleys and overheads. Mendez fittingly closed out the match with
an ace in the corner for a 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 victory.
Zaima had only praise for Mendez’s gutty performance.
"She’s learning what it takes to be a warrior," he said. "She
had the flu and complained of lightheadedness in the first set but
she came back to win at one and love. She’s learning to do what it
takes to win even when she doesn’t have everything together."
In doubles action, the Bruins swept their three matches
including decisive victories by Phebus and Susie Starrett 6-2, 6-2
past Linette Visage and Marcia Hall, and the Chi sisters 6-1, 6-3
over Narelle Hall and Emma Lin.