They’ve been counted out from virtually the beginning.
The No. 12 Bruins weren’t able to start the season off on any sort of streak, as is generally expected from a team starting with a preseason ranking in the top 15.
The troubles began when the women’s tennis team traveled to Wisconsin to compete in the National Team Indoors to face then-No. 8 Northwestern in the first round of the tournament.
The Wildcats were able to beat the Bruins 5-2 in conditions that were far from ideal for a UCLA team accustomed to playing outdoors in warm Los Angeles weather.
“Going into Wisconsin, we were kind of out of our element,” freshman Yasmin Schnack said. “We were playing indoors, and they’re used to that because they play indoors all the time.”
With the rough start to the season, the Bruins began to hear the words of critics and naysayers, but simply let them go out the other ear.
“People are skeptical of us because we lost to Arizona State and we started the season off a little shaky,” sophomore Ashley Joelson said. “Sometimes if you don’t get on a big winning streak right away, people don’t end up expecting much from you.”
When UCLA sustained its loss on the road to the Sun Devils just over a month ago, the season could’ve taken a turn for the worse. But rather than simply fold, the Bruins responded by playing some of their best tennis of the season, beating teams that had previously been able to get the best of them.
UCLA was able to avenge losses against the likes of No. 10 California and No. 8 USC, while forcing top-seeded and defending NCAA champion Stanford to win the last singles match to pull off a tight 4-3 win.
In the last several weeks of the season, the Bruins have matured and grown into one of the most dangerous teams in the nation while winning five matches in a row.
“We’ve played the best when it has counted the most and it’s at the end of the season when it matters the most,” Joelson said. “It’s about how you finish, not how you start, and I feel like we’re going to finish strong.”
And what makes the opportunity to finish strong that much more exciting for the Bruins is that they have earned a matchup against the team that handed them their first loss of the season ““ one which they have not forgotten ““ No. 5 Northwestern.
Knowing that they have a better chance at toppling the Wildcats this time around, senior captain Alex McGoodwin and her teammates feel more confident in their ability to capture the early go-ahead point in doubles.
“One of the biggest differences between the beginning of our season and now is our doubles,” McGoodwin said. “A lot of it is that we are playing more together, getting more comfortable with each other, and feeling really good.”
“We’re absolutely a stronger team than we were earlier this year,” Joelson added. “We’ve got a lot of chemistry in doubles and we’re just way better.”
A key lineup change in singles has also been put forth since the Bruins’ earlier loss. Schnack and junior Tracy Lin have been flip-flopped, with Schnack moving down one spot to the No. 3 position and Lin moving up to No. 2 ““ a change that has brought great success for the team.
But for Schnack, the experience at not only the No. 2 singles spot but also the top seed has reaped several benefits for her down the line, with the most recent being her clinching match against No. 17 Florida State in the second round of her first-ever NCAA Championships.
“Getting the experience under my belt has taken a lot of pressure off of me,” Schnack said. “I still put a lot of pressure on myself, but that’s how I am and it’s been nicer playing No. 3.”
As for the pressure the Bruins will be facing this morning against Northwestern, it will be nearly nonexistent, as they feel all the pressure is on Northwestern to hold its higher seed.
“We’re going out there totally free of pressure,” Joelson said. “The only pressure that we have is within ourselves because nobody’s expecting us to do that good, but we know that we’re going to get far in this tournament.”