After losing just three times all of last season, UCLA women’s tennis coach Stella Sampras Webster found herself disappointed with the team’s conclusion to this year’s regular season.
On Thursday, the No. 7 Bruins dropped their third and final conference match of the year, a 6-1 defeat at the hands of the crosstown USC Trojans.
“We’re going to have to bounce back from this and learn and be better for next time. It was not a fun way to finish our season,” Sampras Webster said.
UCLA took the doubles point against No. 5 USC earlier this year in an eventual 4-2 loss at home.
However, with recent changes to the doubles lineup because of injuries and other factors, the Bruins were unable to keep up with the Trojans’ strong pairings, dropping all three doubles matches to fall behind 1-0 early.
Unlike USC earlier this season, UCLA couldn’t close the gap on the road against its crosstown rivals on Thursday.
The Bruins fell behind, losing the first set in four of six singles matches, with only freshman Kyle McPhillips winning her match. By the time McPhillips won UCLA’s first point, the match was already decided.
“Our team struggled a lot, but I think there’s a lot we can take from this match and get stronger going forward,” McPhillips said.
Though the loss closed out the Bruins’ regular season in disappointing fashion, Sampras Webster pointed to the fact that the team still has time left to reach its full potential.
“We’re just disappointed. I never thought we’d lose like that, but the message (to the team) is we’ve got a month before NCAAs, and I’d rather us play our best tennis in May than right now,” Sampras Webster said.
Sophomore Kaitlin Ray was the only other UCLA player to win her first set, but she eventually dropped her match on court No. 6, losing 6-2, 3-6, 4-6.
The loss brought an end to Ray’s four consecutive singles match victories since returning from an injury to the tendon in her right ring finger.
Sampras Webster said her team struggled against a USC squad that plays well at home in the wind.
“If a player or two doesn’t show up from your team it affects us. It makes it very tough,” Sampras Webster said. “We get away with it from the lesser teams, but against the best teams in the country, which USC is … you’ve got to have everyone focused, competing hard, executing. I just feel like we did not execute well.”
For the team’s lone playing senior, Pamela Montez, the conclusion to UCLA’s regular season was also the final regular season match of her career as a Bruin.
However, Montez refused to despair over her last days playing in blue and gold, indicating that the postseason remains her main focus.
“To be honest, I’m not really looking at the fact that it was my final (regular season) match,” Montez said. “My eyes are set on NCAAs and just trying to improve as an individual and see how I can help the team improve so I haven’t really even taken a second to think that everything I do is kind of my last now.”