This weekend, the UCLA women’s tennis team participated in two tournaments: the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships and the Duals in the Desert Tournament.
Senior Yasmin Schnack and junior Andrea Remynse went for the Bruins and ranked fourth in the doubles pairing, while Schnack represented the Bruins as a singles player as well.
On Thursday Schnack was able to upset third-seeded Chelsey Gullickson of Georgia, before being defeated on Friday. However, Schnack and Remynse faired better in doubles play, before being defeated in the semifinals by the second-seeded Hilary Barte and Lindsay Burdette, 5-7, 7-6(2), 7-5. The Bruins won the first set of the match before losing the remaining two in close sets.
“I think Yasmin and Andrea have earned our top spots right now as far as singles and doubles,” coach Stella Sampras Webster said.
Meanwhile, in Palm Springs, the rest of the Bruins played in the Duals in the Desert Tournament. The setup of the tournament guaranteed each singles player and doubles pair three matches and no declared winner at the end of the event.
“The main thing was to get our players a bunch of matches,” Sampras Webster said.
The Bruins did just that.
Freshmen Stephanie Hoffpauir and Pamela Montez went 1-1 in their doubles matches, while junior Maya Johansson and sophomore Nina Pantic lost two matches this weekend.
In singles play, Hoffpauir won all three matches, and Montez lost two. Johansson went 1-3, and Pantic went 1-2 on the tournament.
The team struggled some but was able to get some valuable observations.
“We can certainly get in better shape,” Sampras Webster said. “We have some injuries we need to take care of.”
Yet Sampras Webster sees it as a positive experience.
“I think our team is very competitive,” she said. “I am excited to see them compete against the dual matches.”
The tournament was the last of the fall quarter, giving the team a chance to get some matches before the season really starts up in January.
“It showed me some different combinations of doubles teams,” Sampras Webster said. “It was good to see what our competition is like nationally. Some players are playing well, and some are not playing quite as well. It definitely gave us some things to work on and improve on for the rest of the quarter.”
Sampras Webster said she will take the time to evaluate her team and determine the order of play for the remaining spots.
“Singles-wise, I’m really looking for someone to step up and play in those 3-6 positions,” Sampras Webster said. “All of our players have that potential.”