Wednesday, February 5, 1997
Bruins suffer 5-4 washout in close call with Waves
W. TENNIS:
After stressful tie in singles play, UCLA falls in doubles
matchesBy Christie DeBeau
Daily Bruin Contributor
It was a heartbreaking loss on Tuesday for the UCLA women’s
tennis team  a 5-4 defeat at the hands of eighth-ranked
Pepperdine.
It was a dual match that easily could have gone either way.
The seventh-ranked Bruins were tied with the Waves, 3-3, after
the singles matches were played. Freshmen Annica Cooper and Katia
Roubanova and sophomore Brandi Freudenberg all posted wins against
their opponents at the Los Angeles Tennis Center.
Freshman Elizabeth Schmidt’s ankle injury was not a problem as
she played No. 2 singles for UCLA. However, Schmidt faced tough
competition and the match did not go in her favor.
"Elizabeth had a tough match playing two," UCLA head coach
Stella Sampras said. "Her opponent is a very good player and
Elizabeth had a chance in that second set and things just did not
go her way in that match. She had some bad luck but she fought
hard, never gave up and I am proud of her for that."
Like Schmidt, Freudenberg also played a close match  but
victory was on her side. Freudenberg lost her first set, 6-1, and
came back to win, 6-0, 6-4.
"Brandi Freudenberg played No. 6, and I was really proud of
her," Sampras said. "It was good to see her play that well and
win."
After the close nail-biting tie in singles, the chance for
victory was in the hands of the doubles competitors. It was here
that the Waves turned the tide and the Bruins lost two of the three
matches.
"I’m happy with everyone’s effort," Schmidt said. "No one gave
up, but it’s always disappointing to loose such a tight, close
match.
"We need to work harder. It’s early and this is unusual to have
such a close match so early in the season. It’s too bad we didn’t
have a few more matches before Pepperdine to get more doubles
experience. But they are in the same situation and they just came
out and played better than us today."
ASUCLA Photography
Freshman Elizabeth Schmidt