At the onset of singles play on Wednesday afternoon, it appeared as though the No. 12 UCLA women’s tennis team’s match against No. 19 Pepperdine would go down to the wire just as its last two matches had.
After losing the doubles point, the Bruins (15-7, 5-2 Pac-10) were trailing on four courts early in the first sets of the matches. But despite being in a hole early on, the Bruins came back to sweep the Waves in singles play for a 6-1 victory.
“They were tough,” UCLA coach Stella Sampras Webster said. “The top three Pepperdine players were very strong and it showed when we got down so early.”
Though junior Tracy Lin and sophomore Anna-Viktoria Lind were able to get back into their respective first sets and capture them with ease, junior Riza Zalameda and freshman Yasmin Schnack both dropped their first sets.
After already having been down 1-0 going into singles play, the Bruins were able to quickly get back into the match, taking a 3-1 lead with quick wins from Lin, fellow junior Elizabeth Lumpkin, and sophomore Ashley Joelson.
“Our girls just stuck around and broke them down,” Sampras Webster said. “It’s great to have players like that who have that mental toughness. I think that’s what our team has that really sets us apart.”
The mental toughness has become evident in Lind, who, last year, folded under pressure against Pepperdine on the road, but was able to clinch Wednesday’s match with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Anete Bandere on court No. 6.
However, capturing the final point of the match proved to be challenging for Lind as Bandere was able to save several match points to prolong the match.
“I kept on missing the final shot and then she’d have some game points also,” Lind said.
“But it felt really good for me to get the match finally, especially since I lost it last year when I was the deciding match.”
With the match already decided, Zalameda and Schnack both went on to pull off impressive victories to capture a sweep for the Bruins in singles play.
The six singles wins were just what the Bruin coaches were looking for after losing a disappointing doubles point, heading not only into the remainder of the match against the Waves, but also the match against No. 8 USC on Saturday on the road.
“It’ll definitely help heading into the last match,” Sampras Webster said. “I think everyone’s feeling good.”
SENIOR DAY: In between the doubles point and the singles point, Bruin seniors Alex McGoodwin and Amber Ray were honored by their teammates and coaches.
McGoodwin has thus far posted a 60-37 singles record in her tenure as a Bruin along with a 47-34 record in doubles. Last season, she ended the season ranked No. 61 nationally and was one of 64 players chosen to represent their schools at the NCAA Singles Championships.
At the end of the year, McGoodwin will be graduating from UCLA with a 3.9 GPA and a degree in geography and environmental studies.
Likewise, Ray has also earned a spot on the UCLA Director’s Honor Roll each quarter that she has been here while majoring in geography and minoring in urban and regional studies.
INJURY UPDATE: McGoodwin and Schnack, who did not compete for the Bruins in the last two matches against No. 1 Stanford and No. 9 Cal, were able to play on Wednesday against the Waves.