The women’s tennis team started the season perceived as one of the best squads in the nation. Now sporting a 7-3 record, UCLA sits outside of the top 25 in the national rankings and enters the Pac-12 competition in the middle of the pack in terms of overall record.
With its recent success – UCLA has been in the NCAA finals in each of the past two seasons – the team was expected to continue its reign of triumph throughout this year.
But the Bruins’ record does not convey the entire story. Considering that this year’s group has been plagued by injuries and lost four of its top six players from last season, players believe they have exceeded expectations thus far.
“A lot of people think, ‘Oh, it’s UCLA, they should be doing better,’” said freshman Alaina Miller. “But we’re such a new team, so I think we are doing pretty well considering the circumstances.”
UCLA will face their first two conference opponents of the season this weekend when they host Washington (8-3) and Washington State (13-1). The Bruins have dominated the two teams throughout the past decade, having won every matchup against each squad since 2004.
The Huskies began the season on an eight-game winning streak, but have cooled off recently, losing three straight matches against No. 5 Texas Tech, No. 10 Oklahoma State and No. 13 Wichita State. The Cougars were also hot during the first two months of the season, rolling on an 12-match win streak before falling to No. 22 Fresno State.
After earning consecutive victories against rival USC and Baylor, UCLA has a bolstered confidence and is certain it can succeed in the conference if players continue improving in doubles play.
“We need to make sure our (doubles) teams know what they need to do going into every match,” said coach Stella Sampras Webster. “It’s just a matter of our teams being ready to play a six-game set and feeling confident and being sharp so that they can execute.”
Many eyes will likely be on court two this weekend, where Washington State sophomore Donika Bashota and Washington freshman Stacey Fung – both ranked in the top 125 in the national singles rankings – will likely face senior Kyle McPhillips in their respective matches. Bashota will put her undefeated singles record in dual matches on the line, while Fung enters the match with an impressive 8-3 singles record.
The Bruins cannot afford to waste opportunities to enhance their resume before the NCAA tournament arrives in May. Being that just No. 2 Cal and No. 20 Stanford are the only Pac-12 teams ranked in the top 25 in the nation, each loss accumulated during conference play will significantly hurt the Bruins’ chances of receiving one of the top-16 seeds of the tournament.
In each of the 16 seeds lies a chance to host the first two rounds of the event, which can be a important advantage in making a deep run during the competition.
“(As) a top-16 seed, you have much easier matches,” said junior Kelly Shaffer. “All of these matches will be really helpful because when we play out of conference or at NCAAs we’ll still have had a lot of difficult matches to prepare us.”
Contact Cardoza at kcardoza@media.ucla.edu or tweet him @kylecardoza8.