The UCLA women’s tennis team missed out on a top-eight
seed in the NCAA Tournament, and it couldn’t be happier.
The Bruins were given a No. 10 seed in next week’s NCAA
Tournament, ensuring that UCLA will host the first two regional
rounds and, more importantly, will avoid facing No. 1 seed Stanford
in the early rounds.
“Anyone from two to eight will be fine with us,”
UCLA coach Stella Sampras Webster said. “Our team feels like
we are in a good place. Everyone’s feeling pretty good with
their tennis and we are excited to play.”
Although the team feels it could have been seeded higher, UCLA
believes its draw could actually be a blessing in disguise. Had the
team been an eight or nine seed, it would almost certainly have had
to face top-seeded Stanford in the quarterfinals. The Cardinal
dominated UCLA twice during the season by scores of 6-1 and
5-2.
Instead, the Bruins will go in on the opposite side of
Stanford’s draw and try to demonstrate that they are capable
of seeing the Cardinal in a potential final.
“I think we are a lot stronger than a 10 seed,”
Sampras Webster said. “But we need to prove it.”
UCLA (15-5) will begin its championship run next Friday at home
against Illinois State. If the Bruins win, they will host either
Long Beach State or Washington, teams they have already beaten this
season.
Their scenario this year is almost a mirror image of last
year’s championship run where the Bruins drew a No. 9 seed en
route to a runner-up position in the championship match against
Stanford. Half the players from that team are back, giving the
Bruins confidence that they can make a deep run in spite of the
relatively low seeding.
“It doesn’t matter where we’re seeded or who
we play,” said freshman Alex McGoodwin, who saw last
year’s run as a redshirt. “We’re going in there
with the same mind-set that we want to win the match and win the
tournament.”
Even though UCLA finished the season strong by winning nine of
its last 10 matches, the team believes its early season struggles
against non-conference opponents were factors in the selection
committee’s decision to keep the Bruins out of the top
eight.
“I know that our losses against Clemson and Miami hurt
us,” Sampras Webster said. “But they go by their
criteria, and we just have to live with it.”
Despite beating USC near the end of the season, the Bruins were
seeded lower than the seventh-seeded Trojans. However, those
seedings seem to be a moot point, as there could be a rematch
between the two teams in the Round of 16. In last year’s
draw, UCLA defeated USC in that same round.
“We feel pretty good against (USC) because we beat them
last time pretty decisively,” Sampras Webster said.
“I’m sure they will be ready to try and get back at
us.”