MIKE CHIEN Junior Sarah Walker and the
team set sight on the NCAAs.
By Eric Perez
Daily Bruin Contributor
The opening task for the 2002 edition of UCLA women’s
tennis is to, as head coach Stella Sampras put it, “earn back
respect.”
“Last year we really struggled,” said Sampras, in
her sixth season at the helm. “We finished the year (at No.)
27, which was a very discouraging ranking for us. We finished
strong reaching the Sweet 16, but I think we’re going into
this year looking to earn back our ranking, where we should be
““ where UCLA should be in the country.”
The Bruins come into the season ranked 16th in the nation,
thanks in no small part to five returnees and one of the best
recruiting classes in the country.
Junior Sarah Walker will begin the season as the team’s
No. 1 singles player and is currently ranked sixth in the nation.
Freshman Megan Bradley, considered the nation’s top recruit,
is ranked seventh in the country and will begin the season at No.
2. Filling out the the rest of the lineup from 3-7 becomes wide
open where the only thing that is certain, as recent history of
UCLA women’s tennis has suggested, is the uncertainty of the
season lineup.
“Usually, in my experience, the lineup normally works
itself out,” Sampras said. “The players that are
playing well and winning stay, and if they aren’t playing
well move down.
“You don’t really want to focus on lineup because
every match is so important.”
The Bruins, as deep as they are, will rely on senior leadership
throughout the season.
“Petya Marinova and Catherine Hawley are our two seniors
and we’re going to expect a lot of leadership from them, but
I think they are going to be very important in leading the team to
the NCAAs,” Sampras said.
Marinova, who by her own admission is playing her best tennis
since coming to UCLA, will team with Walker in doubles.
“We’re going to do really well, we actually have
good chemistry this year,” said Walker, a strong baseline
player who prefers the singles game. “I can never really say
that I am excited to play doubles, but I’m excited to play
this year, so it’ll be fun.”
Doubles might be the strongest component of this team. Marinova
and Walker were 11-1 in the fall season and won two tournaments in
the Fall.
Following closely will be the duo of Bradley and Lauren Fisher
who posted a 7-2 mark in the Fall. Hawley and freshman Sarah Gregg
posted a 3-1 mark in the Fall and all three teams posted a combined
mark of 21-4 in doubles.
While last year may have been a rebuilding year, the Bruins are
taking the trails of last year and are using it as fuel for an NCAA
championship run.
“Ever since I came to school here we’ve actually
struggled a lot, but last year was the worst,” said Marinova,
talking about the team’s struggle to avoid injuries.
“Everyone is really pumped up and everyone is really
playing great so we’re really looking forward to (the
season).”
A deep lineup with the top two singles players destined to push
and better each other throughout the course of the season combined
with strong doubles pairings leaves the Bruins very optimistic for
the coming season.
Now, if only they can stay healthy.