Another week, another rescheduled match brought to you by some rare L.A. weather.
Heavy rain is turning out to be quite a nuisance for the No. 12 UCLA women’s tennis team as it looks to maintain its early season dominance against Rice (3-2) today at the Los Angeles Tennis Center. The match had originally been scheduled for Friday, but an ominous forecast pushed the match back.
But if recent history has shown anything, it’s that the Bruins (4-0) aren’t afraid of a little precipitation. Following the cancellation of their season opener and the rescheduling of their match against Pepperdine because of heavy showers, the Bruins are off to a blazing start. The Bruins have pulled off four consecutive wins to start the season, and they have outscored their opponents 20-1, including a 7-0 thrashing of No. 58 UC Irvine on Wednesday.
The Bruins have seen strong performances all around, especially from senior Yasmin Schnack and junior Noelle Hickey, both of whom have played singles in all four matches. Schnack, the No. 5 player in the country, is 3-0 at the No. 1 spot in singles and has yet to give up a set. She will likely face Rice’s top player, Rebekka Hänle, the No. 73 player in the country.
Freshman Stephanie Hoffpauir’s playing time will be something to pay attention to today: The freshman played in the No. 3 singles spot last week against UC Irvine after Hickey replaced junior Andrea Remynse in the No. 2 spot. Coach Stella Sampras Webster has tried to give the players more court time, but with such a deep team and only six singles spots available, she has some tough decisions to make.
The Bruins will look to continue their success against Rice after getting four days to prepare. Rice, however, will play their second match in as many days. The Owls are playing UCLA in the last leg of a two-legged California trip. The Owls played Pepperdine on Sunday, losing to the Waves 5-2. These matches are the Owls’ first outside of Texas.
UCLA hopes to stay undefeated before heading to Madison, Wis., for the ITA National Team Indoor Championship.
The Bruins had qualified for the NTIC with victories over UNLV and Tulsa. Tulsa has been the only team to win a point against UCLA so far.
Compiled by Jason Wang, Bruin Sports contributor.