After a successful weekend against Washington and Washington State, the No. 7 UCLA women’s tennis team ventures north today to play the first leg of its annual Northern California road trip against No. 11 California (13″“4, 1″“1 Pac-10). The Bruins conclude their trip against No. 12 Stanford (13-1, 2-0) Saturday in Palo Alto.
Of course, the last time the Bruins (16-2, 3-0) faced off against their northern rivals, the results were better than ever for coach Stella Sampras Webster. Her team defeated the Cardinal 6-1 and then proceeded to take a nail-biter against the Golden Bears 4-3 thanks to some clutch play by junior Andrea Remynse.
In fact, UCLA’s triumph over Stanford stands as the Cardinal’s only loss this season. They have not lost at home since February 1999, so the Bruins have a tall order ahead of them.
“I think our team played extremely well against (Washington and Washington State), and we’re going up (to Stanford and California) to win,” Sampras Webster said. “We’re going to play in a different environment. It’s tough to play at Cal; however, I think our team ““ everyone but (freshmen Pamela Montez and Stephanie Hoffpauir and junior Noelle Hickey) has played here before ““ is prepared and ready. Everyone’s really excited to play and have an opportunity to break Stanford’s winning streak at home.”
Montez and junior Maya Johansson are likely to have a big impact this weekend. Over the course of the season, both players have maintained undefeated singles records of 13-0 and 14-0, respectively.
Sampras Webster is very pleased with the way Montez and Johansson have been playing, but she is quick to remind her team that they cannot rely on two players and expect to win matches.
“It’s not something that we want to depend on every match,” Sampras Webster said. “We believe that everyone on our team has the ability to win their matches. Maya and Pam have been solid and that’s really helped us, especially against teams like Cal and Stanford where it’s going to come down to one or two points.”
Senior Yasmin Schnack, the No. 5 singles player in the country, had a tough time in the No. 1 slot when the Cardinal and the Golden Bears came to the Los Angeles Tennis Center earlier this season. Schnack dropped both her matches against Stanford’s Hilary Barte and Cal’s Jana Juricova, and she will be looking to rectify those losses with a pair of victories this weekend.
“This is (Yasmin’s) last trip to Cal and Stanford, so I think she wants to finish her career with wins up there,” Sampras Webster said. “It’s a great opportunity to get to play them again and to play against the best players in the country. I think she’s excited to get that chance again and make some adjustments to get herself some wins up there. She’s looking forward to it.”