Down 4-1 to Loyola Marymount’s Bliss Nixon and Jane Pringle in the No. 2 doubles match, normally laid-back UCLA senior tennis player Ashley Joelson displayed a rare moment of anger, slamming her racket on her bag, producing the second-loudest noise of the match.
The loudest was the applause from her UCLA teammates and the fans at the Los Angeles Tennis Center after Joelson and doubles partner sophomore Maya Johansson finished off the match in a tiebreaker, 8-7 (7-4).
“I was really bummed out with the way we were playing,” Joelson said. “LMU is a good team, but I felt that we should have definitely been beating them. It was just frustration, and sometimes you’ve got to release some of it.”
While this was arguably the most impressive match of the day, it was completed after the No. 8 Bruins had already wrapped up the doubles point.
“Our players definitely have pride,” coach Stella Sampras Webster said. “They certainly weren’t going to roll over. Maya and Ashley were patient with themselves and kept battling, and that’s all we could really ask of them.”
The Bruins (6-2) collected five more wins on the day en route to a 6-1 victory over the Lions (0-5).
Joelson proved to be something of a comeback artist, rallying back from a first set loss to win her No. 2 singles match against Jasmin Heckel, 3-6, 6-2, (10-8).
After winning their doubles match, UCLA’s top two players, sophomore Andrea Remynse and junior Yasmin Schnack were given the rest of the day off by Sampras Webster. However, the team still managed to pull away from LMU without too much trouble.
Johansson stepped up and played at the No. 1 singles position for the first time and looked comfortable in her new lead role, topping LMU’s Tina Razloznik 6-3, 6-2.
“I didn’t feel much pressure,” Johansson said. “I just wanted to play my match like I usually do. It was nice to play (at the No. 1 position). I played well, so I’m happy with it.”
The Bruins face Hawai’i today at 1:30 at the LATC. The Rainbow Wahine have struggled so far this season, starting off 0-4 in dual matches.
UCLA swept Hawai’i 7-0 in Honolulu last season.