UCLA women’s tennis hopes that after a pair of rain outs
leading up to its match against USC, the third time will at least
be salvageable if not charmed.
That’s because if Mother Nature simply gives the Bruins a
chance to compete against Pac-10 foes, they have a good shot at
winning.
The No. 16 Bruins (12-2, 4-0 Pac-10) were initially scheduled to
play the nation’s third-seeded Trojans on March 17 just miles
away from Westwood at Marks Stadium, but rainy weather conditions
forced the dual match to be postponed just one day. However, a lack
of officials on site forced yet another postponement of the match
until today.
Regardless of how long they have to wait to play this match, the
Bruins look to capitalize on the opportunity to seek revenge on the
Trojans after a 4-3 loss to the team in the third round of the NCAA
Championships last season.
The Bruins, however, are a new-look team and have put that
disappointing memory behind them and are looking to create a new
memory in its place.
“I don’t really remember what happened last
year,” senior Laura Gordon said.
It is that mentality of this year’s captain that has the
Bruins vying yet again for a deep run in the national championships
at the onset of conference play.
The anticipation for the match against USC is at its highest
point and this season’s two freshmen, Ashley Joelson and
Anna-Viktoria Lind, are prepared for their first showdown with the
Trojans.
“I think we’re definitely more excited now because
we’ve been anticipating it for a while and it’s just
been getting delayed and we’ve had more time to
prepare,” Lind said.
“I’m a freshman so I haven’t played them, but
I’ve heard all the stories,” Joelson added.
The stories involve intense battles, rowdy fans and nail-biting
finishes.
But it’s nothing the Bruins can’t handle, as they
proved by winning eight straight matches in response to two
losses.
“They normally have plenty of rowdy fans,” sophomore
Elizabeth Lumpkin said. “Even though it’s sometimes
negative energy toward us, we use it to stay motivated and stay
intense through our matches.”
However, the Bruins know better than to take USC too lightly as
the Trojans nearly handed Stanford its first loss in over 60 games
about a month ago.
UCLA is coming off two dual-match wins over both Arizona schools
and hopes to use that momentum to get off to a quick start against
its crosstown rival.
Since the match will be the first of two between the teams, it
won’t be considered in conference standings when determining
the regular-season Pac-10 champion.
But first the Bruins will have to hope the weather holds up so
they can actually take the court against USC for the first time in
three attempts.
“Hopefully we will finally be able to play tomorrow,
because I have been looking forward to playing them since the
beginning,” Lind said.