With just eight days until the regular season begins, the UCLA women’s tennis team looks to finish the preseason on a good note. The squad will break into two groups to compete in separate tournaments over the weekend.
The Bruins will send two players to Palm Desert, California for the National Collegiate Tennis Classic, while three others will journey to Las Vegas for the Freeman Memorial Championships.
Because injuries and breaks robbed many players of time on the court throughout the offseason, coach Stella Sampras Webster said the weekend will be crucial in allowing players to gain experience and increase their consistency.
“(The tournaments) offer a good opportunity to see where our players are at and to get more match play because there were not many opportunities for matches over the (winter) break,” Sampras Webster said.
Seniors Catherine Harrison and Laura Luca will compete in both the singles and doubles portions of the National Collegiate Tennis Classic.
Harrison – ranked No. 18 in the nation in singles – has emerged as the Bruins’ top player after they graduated four of six starters from last year’s team. She will look to continue the strong play she exhibited in the fall, when she finished as the runner-up at the USTA/ITA Southwest Regionals and earned an invitation to the National Collegiate Indoor Championships in November.
“She has been playing with a lot of confidence,” Sampras Webster said. “She believes in her game, and she knows she can compete with the best in the nation.”
While Harrison and Luca travel to Palm Desert, senior Kyle McPhillips, sophomore Kristin Wiley and freshman Alaina Miller will head to Las Vegas, where Pac-12 competitors USC and Stanford will also have representatives. All three Bruins will take part in the singles section of the tournament, with Wiley and Miller also teaming up for the doubles portion.
Although UCLA will have a young squad compared to past years, Sampras Webster said she believes her team can do as well as any throughout her 20-year coaching career at UCLA.
“The team does not have a lot of experience, but they are motivated and intense,” Sampras Webster said. “I am really excited to see everyone on the court representing us.”
Compiled by Kyle Cardoza, Bruin Sports contributor.