Two weeks after clinching the Pac-10 titles with their respective wins over USC, the men’s and women’s tennis teams will finally take the courts again for matches.
It’s been a while since the two teams have played a dual match, but both are looking to get back into a groove this weekend in the opening two rounds of this year’s NCAA Championships.
WOMEN’S TENNIS: The Bruins (18-5) received the No. 7 overall seed this season after dealing with a number of injuries up and down the lineup that forced coach Stella Sampras Webster to adjust her lineup from match to match based on the availability of her players.
However, UCLA still managed to capture a share of the Pac-10 title for the first time in school history.
Now the Bruins will quickly shift their attention to the NCAA Championships after two weeks of solid, intense practices.
“We’re all just really antsy to get on the court and take care of business,” senior Elizabeth Lumpkin said. “If we just stay focused, we should be fine.”
UCLA takes on Buffalo (12-8) today in the first round at the Los Angeles Tennis Center and will likely go on to face the winner of a match played right before theirs between Denver (22-2) and Long Beach State (19-6).
With two wins this weekend, the Bruins would travel to Tulsa for the Round of 16 where they would face the 10th-seeded Trojans if the seeds play out.
Last season, the Bruins were able to advance to the finals in Athens, Ga., before falling to Georgia Tech in the national championship match.
With everyone from that team back this season, the Bruins are looking to repeat their run. Sampras Webster and some of the team’s seniors have seen an increased focus in practice over the past few weeks.
“From last year, we’re carrying over the belief that we can win a national championship,” Lumpkin said. “But we can’t just live off the past, and we need to make sure we’re going to have to work for it and take a national championship, because nobody’s going to give it to us.”
Sophomore Yasmin Schnack, who was named to the All-NCAA Tournament team last season at the No. 3 singles position, will be returning to the lineup this weekend after battling various injuries, and Sampras Webster feels that this weekend is the most opportune time for her to return.
MEN’S TENNIS: After finishing the season with an improbable 21-1 record, the men’s tennis team earned the overall No. 3 seed in this year’s NCAA Championships.
The Bruins face Eastern Washington in the first round on Saturday afternoon and will then face the winner of the other first-round match in the regional between Washington and Wisconsin.
“We certainly know Washington ““ who we would possibly play in the second round ““ pretty well,” UCLA coach Billy Martin said. “I don’t know a whole lot about Wisconsin, but we’re going to have a tough second match either way, which is usually the case.”
Eastern Washington and UCLA both have two common opponents, one of which, coincidentally, is Washington. The Eagles have lost to both Oregon and Washington, 6-1 and 7-0, respectively.
Meanwhile, the Bruins beat both the Ducks and the Huskies by 6-1 margins.
Martin acknowledges that the two weeks between their last dual match and this weekend’s opening rounds of the NCAA Championships have been longer than he would’ve liked. But the Bruins have been able to re-energize and refocus their attention on the postseason.
“This team hasn’t shied away from anything this year, so I think they’re ready to play these matches,” he said. “I’m hoping to see what they’ve shown me all year ““ real fire, competitiveness and determination.”