The Bruins hope that the match will be worth the wait.
The weather is projected to be sunny and there should be enough
umpires.
But the only guarantee when the UCLA women’s tennis team
takes on USC today is that both teams will be more than ready to
face their biggest foe.
The teams have already rescheduled the dual match on three
occasions, twice because of rain and once because of a shortage of
umpires.
But now that the two teams seem to finally have the chance to
play the match, the Bruins (15-4, 5-2 Pac-10) will shift their
focus to the matchup itself.
“We’ve been waiting a long time for this match, so
we’re going to hopefully rise for this occasion and really
show them what we’ve got,” sophomore Riza Zalameda
said.
The Trojans (15-3, 6-1) present the Bruins with a number of
difficult matchups, as the Trojan lineup features some of the
nation’s top-ranked women.
USC freshman Amanda Fink has maintained a top-10 ranking
throughout the season, even reaching the top spot, and is followed
closely by teammates No. 28 Dianne Matias and No. 51 Lindsey
Nelson, whose rankings will likely increase as both handed their
respective Oregon counterparts sound losses.
UCLA, meanwhile, will have to deal with a number of other issues
when taking on its rivals away from the Los Angeles Tennis
Center.
“I’m sure they’re going to have their fans,
their band, and everyone out there,” UCLA coach Stella
Sampras Webster said.
But that hasn’t always been a bad thing for some of the
Bruins on this year’s team, who look forward to such hostile
conditions.
“They get a lot of fans out there, but that really gets me
more pumped up,” senior captain Laura Gordon said.
What makes the match situation more interesting is that after
the Bruins return home today, they will get a mere two-day break
before playing host to the Trojans in a match that will be counted
toward Pac-10 standings.
“It’s really unusual to play the same team twice
within a few days,” sophomore Tracy Lin said. “I think
we’re up for it though and we’re ready. We’ll
just take it one match at a time.”
No member on the UCLA team has played the same team twice in one
week.
Not even Sampras Webster has seen it happen in her 10-year
tenure as coach.
“We’ve never done it before, but I think it’ll
be interesting to see what adjustments either team will
make,” she said.
“If that’s what we have to do, then that’s
what we have to do,” junior Alex McGoodwin said.
But for now, there is nothing the team can do to change that as
they travel to nearby Marks Stadium to take care of unfinished
business.
Though the Bruins’ past history against their crosstown
rivals isn’t very flattering, they are looking to start a new
trend.
“It’s always exciting and you just never know
what’s going to happen when we play each other because
neither team wants to lose,” Sampras Webster said.