Regardless of how the UCLA women’s tennis team chooses to
set its lineup, the Bruins have been seeing similar results. This
past weekend, No. 16 UCLA hosted No. 13 Arizona State and Arizona
at the Los Angeles Tennis Center in a rematch of their meeting in
the Grand Canyon State just over a month ago, in which UCLA swept
both teams via shutout victories. With Pac-10 standings in mind,
the Bruins looked to uphold the results from their earlier matches
and maintain their perfect conference record. They ended up doing
just that, posting a 6-1 victory over Arizona State and a 5-2
victory over Arizona. “Both Arizona schools are pretty good
teams, so to get convincing wins under our belts helps build our
confidence for upcoming matches,” senior Laura Gordon said.
The Bruins first took on the Sun Devils, with one slight difference
from their last meeting ““ the presence of Bruin sophomore
Riza Zalameda. However, Zalameda did not play in her usual top
position, but rather at the No. 2 spot after returning from an
ailing injury she had suffered on the Bruins’ journey to
Arizona earlier this season. Instead, Gordon continued her
impressive play at the No. 1 singles spot, capturing two victories
over the weekend and clinching the match against Arizona.
“I’m playing well, so it doesn’t really matter
what number I’m playing right now,” Gordon said.
“I just want to hit my (shots) and get a win.”
Zalameda, on the other hand, struggled in both of her matches and
losing twice in singles, but she was able to redeem herself in
doubles with Gordon, helping to capture the doubles point in both
matches. That was not the only lineup change for the Bruins, as
junior Alex McGoodwin did not participate in the weekend’s
dual matches. Prior to the pair of Pac-10 dual matches, the Bruins
(12-2, 4-0 Pac-10) took on Hawaii Pacific, a Division II team,
while training on the islands over spring break. The Bruins had
very little trouble dismantling the Sea Warriors, not losing a
single set in singles play after quickly capturing the doubles
point.
CLIMBING THE RANKS: Once again the Bruins
dropped in the national rankings as a team, from No. 14 to No. 16,
but found some individuals slowly making their way to the top of
the list. Gordon, who is in her last season as a Bruin,
accomplished something she hadn’t done before, earning a
top-20 ranking in singles, checking in at the No. 17 position. In
the most recent Fila/ITA rankings, only two teams, UCLA and
Stanford, had six ranked singles players.