After an eventful journey to frigid Wisconsin for the USTA/ITA National Team Indoors, the No. 8 UCLA women’s tennis team will return to a sunny environment this afternoon to take on Loyola Marymount at the Los Angeles Tennis Center.
The Bruins (5-1) are coming off a weekend in which they dropped their first dual match of the season to North Carolina because of a lineup depleted by injuries and battled snow between practice facilities and the team hotel.
With the loss, the Bruins dropped from No. 2 to No. 8 in the rankings, but they were able to win two other matches against Arkansas and Clemson in the consolation draw.
This afternoon’s match against the Lions (0-5) is a postponement of a match that was scheduled to be played in January but was delayed due to weather.
The Bruins will use today’s match to prepare for another meeting against a top-20 team when they take on No. 12 Fresno State on Friday.
“We are looking forward to this match to help us prepare for Fresno State because they are a really good team this year,” senior Alex McGoodwin said.
LMU boasts the 2007 WCC Player of the Year, senior Pavla Mesterova, at the top of its lineup.
Lions’ coach Jamie Sanchez, feels that Mesterova’s presence in the singles roster is a key to how her team has maintained its competitiveness in all of its losses.
“The biggest plus is that we have a good player at the top of the lineup,” Sanchez said. “Having that top player is an indication of any good Division I team. We also have a good amount of depth, which is the second ingredient of a good team.”
Depth is something that the Bruins have plenty of this year, as was shown at the National Team Indoors when the experienced team was able to put in two players, senior Elizabeth Lumpkin and sophomore Stephanie Wetmore, to fill the spots of McGoodwin and sophomore Yasmin Schnack, who sat out due to injuries. Despite having to fill in for two key players, the Bruins were still able to keep a match against a top-10 team close before finally losing 4-3.
“Our goal (today) is to really go out there and dominate,” McGoodwin said. “We have a really deep team, so I don’t think the injuries will affect us that much.”
Though Wetmore dropped her match while Lumpkin won hers in three sets, the match showed that the Bruins are quite capable of competing and keeping matches close, even without their optimal lineup on the courts.
MEN’S TENNIS: The No. 8 UCLA men’s tennis team will be traveling to its USTA/ITA National Team Indoors tournament in Seattle, where the Bruins (5-0) will take on No. 9 Notre Dame in the first round.
The Bruins are coming off an impressive 7-0 victory over then-No. 27 Boise State that was much closer than the shutout indicates, with four of the six singles matches being decided in the third set.
INJURY UPDATE: Junior Haythem Abid continues to undergo physical therapy for his wrist after undergoing a surgery several weeks ago to repair a torn ligament and remove a cyst.
Abid works with the men’s tennis trainer, Tony Spino, and goes to the UCLA Medical Center in hopes of returning to the court sooner.
“I haven’t been able to play yet, but it is getting better, and I’m beginning to have more motion and flexibility in it,” Abid said.