The members of the UCLA women’s tennis team now know what
it feels like to be beaten. And they don’t like it.
So when the No. 17 Bruins play host to No. 6 California today
and No. 1 Stanford on Saturday, they will do anything in their
control to avoid the agony of defeat again.
However, the road to victory will be tougher than it has ever
been this season for UCLA, as the two visiting teams are the
highest ranked on its schedule so far this season.
The Bruins (4-1) head into today’s matchup with four
shutout victories and a sole loss that came in heartbreaking
fashion to No. 24 Pepperdine.
“After losing to Pepperdine, I think we got a wake-up
call,” coach Stella Sampras Webster said. “The girls
know they have to play hard and be ready, because these teams are a
lot better than the ones we’ve played.”
There is no question that both Bay Area teams represent a higher
level of competition than what UCLA has faced thus far in the
season.
Cal and Stanford both competed in the National Indoors
tournament and had considerable success, as then-No. 18 Cal pulled
off an upset against No. 9 Miami, while Stanford defeated No. 15
Texas 4-0 in the final to capture the title.
The Bruins, who swept the Golden Bears in the season series in
2005, are trying to design a similar formula for success.
“It’s really important that we come out strong on
Friday against Cal,” sophomore Tracy Lin said. “We beat
them last year, and I know we can do it again, even with two new
freshmen.”
The two freshmen, Ashley Joelson and Anna-Viktoria Lind, dropped
three-set matches against the Waves last Saturday. Now they are
quickly gaining the confidence and experience to realize just what
they will need to do to help contribute.
“We’re going to have to play really well to beat
them,” Lind said.
There is no doubt that the Bruins will have to play their best
tennis to come out victorious this weekend, especially against the
Cardinal.
“It’s going to be a tough match, hands down,”
sophomore Riza Zalameda said. “What we do in these two
matches will be a preview of what our results will be for the rest
of season.”
The Bruins have been unable to dismount the top-ranked team in
quite some time, not since their victory against the Cardinal in
1998, when UCLA pulled off a 5-4 upset at home.
The undefeated Cardinal will take on USC prior to facing the
Bruins, and are expected to extend their winning streak to 64
before entering the Los Angeles Tennis Center on Saturday
afternoon.
Stanford has dropped just two individual matches all year, for
an overall record of 41-2. Neither of the lost points has come in
doubles, which proves all the more troublesome for the Bruins, who
have been attempting to get back up to par in doubles.
“It’s something that we’ve always been
successful with, but it’s something we’ve just been
struggling (with) this year,” Sampras Webster said.
Regardless of which way the doubles point plays out this
weekend, the Bruins still have a talented singles roster that is
capable of winning big matches.
“We have the talent, we have the good players ““ now
we just need to be ready to go,” junior Alex McGoodwin
said.