Friday, April 12, 1996
Bruins end nine-match homestand against Troy womenBy Hye
Kwon
Daily Bruin Staff
It seems like an eternity since the UCLA women’s tennis team
last competed in a dual-match on the road, but the long homestand
ends as the Bruins go across town to battle No. 21 Southern
California today at 1:30 p.m.
This afternoon’s match against the Women of Troy (12-6) will be
the first road match for the sixth-ranked Bruins since Feb. 25,
when they competed against Georgia in the National Indoor
Tournament in Wisconsin. Since then, UCLA has played nine straight
matches at home, garnering a record of 7-2 during that span.
Though the Bruins (15-4) face a tough road trip to the Bay Area
next weekend, UCLA isn’t exactly willing to treat this afternoon’s
match as a warm-up, especially when USC has proven that it is a
legitimate contender in the Pac-10 conference.
"It’s really important to get this win to get some confidence
for the trip up north," UCLA assistant coach Stella Sampras said.
"But we know that we need to play really well to beat USC because
they have some good players."
On paper, the Bruins appear to have a clear edge over their
crosstown rivals. In the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s top
100, UCLA finds four of its players on the list, with Kelly Rudolph
emerging as the latest Bruin to earn mention. USC, on the other
hand, has only Suzanne Italiano at No. 81 and Ditta Huber at No.
84.
Despite the apparent disparity in skill level, the Bruins are
not so self-assured when they review the way in which the Women of
Troy have been able to overachieve this season. USC swept Arizona
State in the season series and took No. 3 Texas to the limit before
suffering a 5-4 loss.
Furthermore, if performances against common opponents serve as
an adequate gauge, USC’s performance against California last Friday
should erase the possible problem of overconfidence on the Bruins’
part. In that match, the Women of Troy easily handled the Bears as
they posted the final score of 5-2. The Bruins, on the other hand,
had all kinds of trouble with California the following day, barely
squeezing by with a lethargic 5-4 win.
"All the teams that are in the bottom of the rankings are still
good teams who are more than capable of beating teams that are
ranked high," Sampras said. "But we still feel pretty confident of
ourselves."
FRED HE/Daily Bruin
Breaking into the top 100 in the latest rankings, UCLA’s Kelly
Rudolph is one of four-ranked Bruins taking on the Trojans
today.