Monday, April 1, 1996
By Hye Kwon
Daily Bruin Staff
After posting two clutch victories during spring break, the UCLA
women’s tennis team seems to have put itself in great shape for the
final month of the season.
Keeping in mind that they have to take on powerhouses Stanford,
California and USC in the final five matches of the regular season,
the Bruins knew that a lapse during the break would have been
disastrous. But as it turned out, the Bruins managed just fine and
improved their record to 14-3 overall and 5-2 in conference.
The most difficult match of the break came against 10th-ranked
Pepperdine last Thursday. The Waves marched into Westwood looking
to finally record the upset victory they nearly garnered when the
two teams met in February.
The prospect of that upset looked inevitable this time when
Pepperdine succeeded in posting up two quick victories in the top
two spots. Isabela Petrov dominated the No. 1 singles court against
Keri Phebus, as she notched a 6-0, 6-2 victory. Petrov recorded 16
winners in the match, while Phebus managed just four. The most
amazing statistic was an anemic Phebus registering just four points
won on the first serve, while her opponent had 24.
Stephanie Chi, who was filling in for Paige Yaroshuk at the No.
2 spot, didn’t fare much better. In less than an hour, Chi went
down in a 1-6, 1-6 loss.
"It was really strange because our two top players lost so
quickly," UCLA assistant coach Stella Sampras said. "Both of them
had very bad days, but luckily the rest of the team pulled
through."
At positions three through six, the Bruins garnered a sweep
which left just one match needed in the doubles play for the team
victory. That fifth point came when Phebus teamed up with Yaroshuk
at the top doubles to defeat Petrov and Annabel Rognon.
The critical match was at the No. 4 spot with Brandi Freudenberg
and Anna Svendenhov doing battle. After splitting the first two
sets, Freudenberg found herself down 2-5 in the third set. Then,
the freshman staged a methodical comeback, which culminated in a
7-5 victory in the set.
The road was a lot less bumpier for the Bruins as they took on
Washington on Saturday afternoon. With Yaroshuk still missing in
action due to the flu, UCLA dismantled the Huskies in a 9-0
victory. Freshman Jody Anglin, who saw action at the No. 6 singles
for the second straight day, easily handled her opponent.
FRED HE/Daily Bruin
Brandi Freudenberg defeated Anna Svendenhov 7-5 in UCLA’s
meeting with Pepperdine.
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