Yasmin Schnack looked to the umpire in disbelief.
Trailing 0-2 in the second set against Arizona State’s Micaela Hein, Schnack found herself in danger of dropping another game after the umpire miscalled the opponent’s out-of-bounds shot.
Instead of losing her composure, she kept calm and came back to win the game, and the next four.
The No. 7 seed UCLA women’s tennis team completed a weekend sweep at the NCAA regionals, shutting out Army 4-0 on Friday and ASU 4-0 on Saturday at the Los Angeles Tennis Center.
Compared to their regular season play against ASU, the Bruins (21-3) showed great focus and determination in both tournament matches, as highlighted by Schnack’s resiliency against the Sun Devils (14-6) after trying to argue the call.
“I was little upset that the referee overruled me, but it’s all part of the game,” Schnack said. “I knew that I could overcome that. If I just kept the ball on the court and stayed aggressive, (Hein) would miss or give me opportunities to hit winners, and that’s what ended up happening.”
The Arizona State match was an opportunity for Schnack to prove herself, as the Bruin’s lone senior had lost to Hein earlier this season. But Schnack and the Bruins came into the match expecting an even tougher competition than their narrow 4-3 regular season victory.
“We knew what we had to do,” Schnack said. “The last time we played them, it was just a regular dual match. There was just much more on the line this time.”
In her singles match, Schnack jumped out to a quick lead by winning the first set. But her match was cut short at 6-2, 5-2 as the rest of the Bruins took care of business and secured the win.
The first Bruin to win her match was junior Noelle Hickey. Like Schnack, Hickey had lost her singles match during the regular season duel against ASU. Hickey also came out blazing hot, speedily defeating ASU’s Kelcy McKenna, 6-1, 6-2.
Like Schnack’s win, Hickey’s was a far cry from her 7-6, 6-4 loss to McKenna earlier in the season .
“I think we just played a lot better today than we did earlier in the season,” said UCLA coach Stella Sampras Webster. “In singles, Yasmin and Noelle were just really prepared. They knew what to expect and they executed their game plan very well.”
Hickey noted that Sampras Webster had been giving advice on how to deal with opponents this late in the season.
“Stella was telling us that at this point in the season, it’s just us and the ball,” Hickey said. “I just focused on that on every point, every shot. I didn’t worry about what McKenna was doing.”
Hickey’s fast singles win came after a slow doubles start. Paired with sophomore Nina Pantic, the tandem was unable to defeat the Sun Devil’s Nadia Abdala and Michelle Brycki. Fortunately for the Bruins, the other two UCLA pairings were able to win the doubles point.
The ever-dependable freshman Pamela Montez and junior Maya Johansson won the final two singles points for UCLA. The two Bruins have been dominant all season long: Johansson sports a 19-1 dual match record and Montez is 16-3 for the season. Montez led throughout her match, defeating ASU’s Hannah James 6-3, 6-0, while Johansson clinched the victory by defeating ASU’s Brycki 6-2, 6-4.
Sampras Webster said Montez and Johansson’s wins show the Bruins’ depth.
The strong Bruin lineup had little difficulty with the Army Black Knights (20-10) Friday. UCLA’s doubles tandems went a perfect 22-0, and no player dropped a singles set.
The Bruins will head to Athens, Ga. for remaining matches of the NCAA Tournament. UCLA will face defending champion Duke in the quarterfinals Thursday.