The women’s tennis team will take its act to the Pacific
Northwest this week in hopes of getting back on track following a
disastrous weekend at home against Cal and Stanford.
The Bruins (12-7, 3-1), who have fallen to a season-low No. 15
ranking, will take on Washington State (7-10, 0-5) today in Pullman
and will then travel to Seattle to face No. 7 Washington (14-3,
3-2).
“This is a very important weekend for us,” UCLA head
coach Stella Sampras Webster said. “We need to go in and take
care of Washington State, and then Washington is a very strong team
and a very experienced team.”
One factor that UCLA must be prepared to face is the possibility
of inclement weather. The conditions during either match could
easily be very different than what the team is used to playing
in.
“We’ve got to be able to make adjustments if we have
to play indoors or outdoors,” Sampras said. “It could
be cold and it could be raining, so we’ve got to be able to
adjust well.”
Sampras Webster hopes to be able to use freshman Feriel Esseghir
in both singles and doubles this weekend. Esseghir, who has missed
most of the season due to a foot injury, was limited to doubles
against Stanford and singles against Cal.
“Having Feriel in the lineup makes our team a ton stronger
and everyone else on the team seems to be healthy,” Sampras
Webster said.
With the team as healthy as it has been all season, the singles
lineup for the Bruins will likely consist of Sara Walker, Jackie
Carleton, Susi Wild, Esseghir, Sarah Gregg and Laura Gordon.
Carleton and Esseghir will play No. 1 doubles, Walker and Gordon
will fill the No. 2 position, and Wild and Gregg will round out the
doubles lineup at the No. 3 position.
Washington State will likely pose little threat to the Bruins,
as they have struggled tremendously in Pac-10 play so far this
season. The Cougars are currently 0-5 in conference play and have
been shut out 7-0 by Cal, Stanford and Washington.
The Bruins will face a significantly greater challenge from the
Huskies on Saturday. Washington has won 12 of its last 14 matches
and consequently has earned its highest national ranking of the
season. The Huskies don’t have anyone ranked in the top 25 in
singles play, but they do boast three players in the top 60.
This will be the only meeting between UCLA and the Washington
schools this year. This past year the Bruins defeated both teams at
the Los Angeles Tennis Center and then notched a 4-1 victory over
Washington in the NCAA tournament.