In the first round of the NCAA Women’s Tennis Individual
Championships, both UCLA singles players lost on Monday. Freshman
Daniela Bercek had to retire in her second set to Oklahoma’s
Anda Perianu and forfeited her match losing 7-5, 4-4. Sophomore
Jackie Carleton lost to Northwestern’s Jessica Rush 6-4, 6-3.
“Right now I’m just mentally tired,” Carleton
said in a press conference after her match. “The season is so
long. I used everything I had to play for the team title.”
Perianu noticed Bercek was tired as well. “I felt
confident,” Perianu said in a post-match press conference.
“(Bercek) was pretty tired.” Both UCLA players
experienced fatigue because they didn’t have any days off in
between the NCAA Team Championships and the NCAA Individual
Championships. In the team tournament, UCLA played matches on four
consecutive days, losing to Stanford in the championship match on
Sunday. In the doubles tournament, Carleton and UCLA’s Feriel
Esseghir play their first round match today at 11 a.m. against
Washington’s No. 8 seeded Claire Carter and Dea Sumantri. The
two are the only Bruins left in the NCAA Individual
Championships.
WOMEN’S GOLF: UCLA women’s golf
coach Carrie Forsyth was named National Coach of the Year by the
National Golf Coaches Association on Monday. Her Bruins took the
NCAA Championship on Saturday, winning by three-strokes over
Oklahoma State and seven strokes over previously No. 1-ranked Duke.
“I am extremely grateful to the (coaches association)
committee for this award,” Forsyth said in a statement.
“This honor belongs as much to me as it does to my players
and staff.” It was UCLA’s first NCAA Women’s Golf
Championship since 1991, when Forsyth played on the team.
SOFTBALL: In the last regional final game,
Michigan beat Oregon State on Monday, qualifying for the NCAA
Women’s College World Series. The Wolverines join UCLA,
Stanford, LSU, Cal, Washington, Oklahoma and Florida State in the
eight-team double-elimination tournament that starts on
Thursday.
Compiled by Gilbert Quiñonez, Bruin sports senior
staff.