The UCLA women’s tennis squad went through its usual
pre-match routine on Tuesday: warm-ups, stretches, working on
singles and running some doubles drills. Except there was one minor
difference: they were practicing at Marks Stadium, home of
crosstown rival USC. Due to a construction conflict at the Los
Angeles Tennis Center, the Bruins were forced to travel across town
for practice Tuesday and more importantly, to make up last
week’s postponed game today at 1:30 p.m. The rivalry match
against No. 13 USC (6-1) was slated to take place last Friday,
however, a few hours of untimely rain forced its postponement and a
change in venues. “I was really disappointed that we had to
move the match,” freshman Riza Zalameda said. “We were
working hard on getting a lot of fans out to support us because we
knew USC was going to bring their hard core fans, but now we
don’t have that home court advantage.” Now, the No. 10
Bruins (6-3) must quickly adjust to the fact that they are now
heading over into a hostile environment, something the freshmen
have yet to experience. “I’ve never really played in a
hostile environment before,” said Zalameda. “I’m
used to playing in front of large crowds, but they were never
routing against me, so I don’t really know what to expect,
but I definitely won’t let it affect me.” Coach Stella
Sampras Webster knows firsthand how rowdy the Trojan faithful can
get, citing the trouble they gave the UCLA men’s tennis team
just last week. However, she believes that her team is mature
enough to play through the inevitable heckles and jeers.
“Most other places we go, the fans don’t get into
it,” Sampras Webster said. “Hopefully, it won’t
be a huge deal for our girls and they can handle it in a
professional, mature way, otherwise, it won’t be a good day
for them.” ROAD TRIP: Another inconvenience arising from the
Southern California rain is that starting today, the Bruins will be
playing three matches in four days. A day after taking on the
Trojans, the Bruins will fly out to the Pacific Northwest to do
battle against No. 8 Washington Friday and Washington State on
Saturday. Sampras Webster sees the flurry of games as a positive
rather than a negative after being hampered by so many delays due
to rain here in Los Angeles. “I think the girls would rather
play matches than just practice,” Sampras Webster said.
“But this trip will be a lot tougher if we lose to USC and
have to bounce back on the road.”
CONSTRUCTION UPDATE: The construction that delayed the match had
to do with a new scoreboard being installed on the back court of
the Los Angeles Tennis Center, which will keep track of the scores
on the main court.