The UCLA women’s tennis team proved its worthiness of a No. 1 ranking Thursday, handily defeating Loyola Marymount University 7-0.
The Bruins’ momentum stemmed from a dominating season-opening performance last weekend and they were able to maintain their perfect record.
Senior Chanelle Van Nguyen had the best performance for her team and was the only player to not drop a single game. Van Nguyen played well in all aspects of the game and was able to take charge of the match from its onset.
“Today I came in with a specific game plan and I was just excited to play,” Van Nguyen said.
Van Nguyen said that her game plan was to get off to a solid start and maintain consistency throughout – and that’s exactly what she did Thursday, noting her play was the best this season.
Before her strong singles showing, Van Nguyen competed in doubles with freshman Kristin Wiley. Despite their lack of experience playing together, the senior-freshman tandem was able to play solid tennis and win at the No. 3 position, 6-3.
“Last week when (Wiley and I) played against Marshall, we played well,” Van Nguyen said. “As we keep playing in matches, we get more comfortable on the court together.”
The Bruins’ top-ranked individual, senior Robin Anderson, suffered a brief deficit Thursday, but she was able to close out her match with two set wins.
“Today was a little bit of a struggle for me,” Anderson said. “(My opponent) was having a really good day, but we got the win, so it wasn’t too bad.”
During the side change at 3-2 in the first set, Anderson sat down and discussed the match with assistant coach Rance Brown, who she says pointed out weaknesses in her opponent’s game and advised her how to exploit them.
“(Brown) told me to keep more of a pattern of focusing a lot of cross balls and waiting for my opportunities to take it down the line,” Anderson said. “Her (poor) movement was something that (Brown) pointed out to me as well, and I really took advantage of that.”
After going down 4-2 in the first set, Anderson surged back to win a close first set 6-4 and proceeded to maintain her smart play to win the second set more favorably 6-2.
The undefeated UCLA women’s tennis team will look to maintain its positive streak heading into next week’s ITA Division I National Women’s Team Indoor Championship in Charlottesville, Va. – a tournament that the Bruins consider crucial and one in which they have performed well in the past.