ATHENS, Ga. “”mdash; Entering the NCAA Championships, Yasmin Schnack was flying under the radar, but by the end of Tuesday’s match, the freshman had established herself as the best No. 3 singles player in the tournament.
Schnack, after having some trouble early in the season adapting to dual-match play, became the court that team members and coaches could almost always count on for a win.
“She’s been our solid rock and so dependable and coachable,” UCLA coach Stella Sampras Webster said. “She’s a great player that has the full package.”
Schnack’s solid groundstrokes and ability to switch the pace of the point by hitting an occasional floating shot or a drop shot from the baseline makes it almost impossible for her opponents to get a lead and maintain it, as the Bruin leaves them on their toes.
Though her great play earned her a spot on the All-Tournament Team at the No. 3 singles position, Schnack, along with doubles partner junior Riza Zalameda, notched a spot on the All-Tournament Team for their unstoppable play at No. 1 doubles.
The pair began to find chemistry on the court at the Pac-10 Championships in Ojai where they captured the Pac-10 doubles title prior to beginning play for the NCAA Championships. The duo hadn’t lost a bit of their intensity throughout the tournament, losing just once in the quarterfinals before going undefeated from then on.
“She hasn’t been afraid of playing at the No. 1 doubles spot at all,” junior Elizabeth Lumpkin said. “Taking that responsibility of leading the team as a freshman ““ she’s done a great job. To see her grow as a tennis player and as a person has been really great to see.”
Schnack’s year isn’t quite over as she will be competing in the NCAA Individual Championships in both singles and doubles.
OTHER BRUINS STILL COMPETING: Also competing for UCLA in the NCAA Individual Women’s Championships will be Zalameda and junior Tracy Lin.
Zalameda received a 9-16 seed and will face Ana Cetnik of TCU in the first round. Meanwhile, Schnack will take on Catrina Thompson from Notre Dame, and Lin will go up against Gira Schofield of the University of South Carolina.
In women’s doubles, Zalameda and Schnack will take on 5-8 seed Kim Coventry and Joelle Schwenk from Kentucky.
QUICK HITS: If the UCLA women’s tennis team had captured the title, it would’ve been the first successful run of five attempts and the first time UCLA won 22 matches in a season since winning 23 in 1991. … The loss to Georgia Tech was the first ever for the Bruins, who entered the match with a 2-0 record against the Yellow Jackets. … Tuesday’s match was the first the Bruins lost this season after having won the doubles point, as they were 20-0 entering the match.
MEN’S CHAMPIONSHIPS: No. 1 Georgia, the team that defeated No. 9 UCLA in the quarterfinals, defeated No. 10 Illinois 4-0 in the NCAA Men’s Championship match to capture the title.
The men’s team has now lost to the eventual national champion in the quarterfinals for the second straight year.
It also marks the third time in four years UCLA has lost to the eventual champion, and the fourth time in five years the team has lost to a finalist.