Tuesday afternoon marked the beginnings of a new season and a new playing format for the UCLA women’s tennis team, but the Bruins didn’t miss a beat in a 7-0 victory over the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos.
“Everyone did a great job. We are playing with a new format, so this first match was going to be just kind of a test to see how well prepared we are,” said Bruins coach Stella Sampras Webster.
The new format requires only six set victories for a doubles match victory, as opposed to eight, which was the amount required for a doubles match victory last season.
The Bruins looked more than prepared for this change, as they began the contest with two 6-1 victories in doubles play to capture the key first point of the game before the start of the six singles matches.
“We did a good job of getting off to good starts (in the doubles matches),” Sampras Webster said. “That’s something we’re going to have to improve on, because (the doubles match) is only up to six (sets). It’s quick, so we need to be ready and prepared.”
The new format was unfavorable to the Gauchos, who were caught off guard and unable to adapt throughout the contest.
“We just learned today that it would be this kind of format,” said UCSB coach Simon Thibodeau. “We are more like a marathon team, so we like the longer match. For us, (the new format) was not the best.”
The Bruins carried the momentum they established in the doubles portion of the competition into the singles segment, as each of the Bruins’ singles competitors won their matches in straight sets.
One of those singles winners was UCLA sophomore Kyle McPhillips, who emphasized the importance of remaining assertive throughout the shortened match.
“Our coach just told us to stay intense and stay on top of them because they’d come out playing really well,” said McPhillips, who was also part of a doubles victory on Tuesday. “I thought we did a good job of staying intense throughout the whole match.”
Three of the four Bruins ranked in the top 40 of the ITA singles rankings participated in the season-opening match. Junior Chanelle Van Nguyen (No. 9 in the ITA rankings) won her singles match against UCSB’s April Scatliffe by a score of 6-0, 6-1. Freshman Jennifer Brady (No. 24 in the ITA rankings) and McPhillips (No. 36 in the ITA rankings) also won their respective singles matches.
Junior Robin Anderson, who is ranked No. 1 overall in the ITA singles rankings, did not participate in the contest.
The Bruins’ next competition will be against the San Diego Toreros on Friday at 1 p.m. The match will be part of ITA Kick-Off Weekend, a four-team tournament at the Los Angeles Tennis Center that also includes Texas Christian University and UC Irvine.