As the UCLA women’s tennis team steps onto the courts at Straus Stadium on Friday it will be met by the usual crowd of teammates, coaches and fellow Bruins – but those won’t be the only familiar faces it will see.
Because the Bruins typically play the Golden Bears twice per season, many of their players are more than just opponents to the Bruins. They are friends dressed in different shades of blue and gold.
“With people you’re really good friends with, it’s really hard to play against them,” said junior Robin Anderson.
But now UCLA will try to use the familiarity with Cal to its advantage, and has already started strategizing.
“We know a lot of their players, so depending on lineups, we’ll have some game plans against some of their players because we know quite a few of them,” said coach Stella Sampras Webster.
This will be UCLA’s second match against a Pac-12 opponent and first televised match this season, and according to Sampras Webster, the team will have to fight to maintain its No. 2 ranking and 9-1 record.
The last time the Bruins met the No. 4 Golden Bears (5-1) they were defeated at the Los Angeles Tennis Center 4-3 after losing the doubles point and splitting the singles points.
However, this match brings with it an additional set of challenges for the Bruins. Not only must they play against familiar faces, but they must return to the experimental NCAA scoring system, which incorporates more opportunities for tiebreakers in an effort to shorten the matches and make them better suited for television.
“Neither one of us coaches, Cal’s coach or myself, would prefer to play the NCAA format, but it’s probably the last time we will play this experimental format this season,” said Sampras Webster.
As the Bruins revisit the experimental format, they remember their losses during three tiebreakers to the Duke Blue Devils just weeks ago at the ITA Team Indoor Championships, and know they need to fight hard to defend their No. 2 spot.
“Cal is really good, so all of us have to be on our A-game,” said junior Chanelle Van Nguyen.
Sampras Webster said that even though the Bruins play the Golden Bears often and the teams know each other well, it will not make this match any easier.
She said, “It’s going to be a battle.”