After putting a serious dent in the armor of women’s tennis powerhouse Stanford in the semifinals of last year’s NCAA Championships, the No. 6 UCLA women’s tennis team has opened up another opportunity to give the Cardinal a thorough blow.
When the Bruins (17-5, 6-1 Pac-10) play host to crosstown rival and 10th-ranked USC (17-6, 5-2) this afternoon, they will have a chance to do something that no other Bruin women’s tennis team has been able to accomplish ““ win the regular-season conference title.
After Cal won the inaugural Pac-10 title in 1987, Stanford has won an unprecedented 20 consecutive conference titles, but the Bruins have a chance to be the third team added to the list.
“It’s just a huge opportunity for us to show just how strong this team is,” coach Stella Sampras Webster said.
“I think this is the strongest team that I’ve seen in quite a few years.”
Injuries plagued a number of the Bruins’ top players this season, forcing the others to step up and fill the void. But as the team takes the courts this afternoon, Sampras Webster will reveal the deepest singles lineup all season.
“Everyone’s healthy now, and I think we’re in a great position and the team is feeling very confident, so I can’t help but be excited for this match,” she said.
Her squad knows that the Women of Troy won’t just fold and hand the Bruins a chance to share the conference title with the winner of Saturday’s matchup between Cal and Stanford, both 6-1 in Pac-10 play.
“We’re not going to be depending on each other,” senior Riza Zalameda said. “Everyone’s going to want to win their own match for the glory of it.”
That hasn’t been the case for all the matches though. The Bruins have had to rely on one another on several occasions because of the depleted lineup.
Yet with a healthy lineup, the team feels that it has the chance to take the courts of the Los Angeles Tennis Center and win all six singles matches.
“We have our full artillery with us out there now,” Zalameda said. “We can put anyone out there, but our main concern right now is just keeping everyone healthy.”
Although Sampras Webster and her squad were hoping to go undefeated this season, injures forced alternate plans.
But she feels that the team, if healthy, is undoubtedly a heavy contender for the national championship.
“I’m sure teams aren’t going to want to play us with our full lineup,” she said. “We were runner-ups last season and everyone’s back.”
But before getting too far ahead of themselves, the Bruins are focusing on what will be at stake this afternoon.
The match will likely be the biggest and most important regular-season game the team has played all year.
“There are a lot of positive things going into this for our seniors, for our program, for the end of the year,” Sampras Webster said.
SENIORS TO BE HONORED: Along with Zalameda, three other Bruin seniors will be honored at today’s match: Tracy Lin, Elizabeth Lumpkin, and Alex McGoodwin.