Wednesday, January 8, 1997
W. TENNIS:
Four Bruins begin season, rank high in Milwaukee tourneyBy
Christie DeBeau
Daily Bruin Contributor
UCLA’s women’s tennis team began its season on Tuesday in the
Milwaukee Tennis Classic. Four Bruins are competing in the
tournament that will continue until Saturday. The top three seeds
of the tournament are all Bruins.
The first day of the national invitational, held at the
Marquette University’s Helfare Tennis Stadium and Milwaukee-area
tennis centers, was a sweep for the Bruins.
Sophomore Kati Kocsis, after earning a bye in the first round,
advanced to the fourth round, slaughtering her opponents with wins
over Megan Berman 6-0, 6-0 and Robyn Porter 6-0, 6-1.
Elizabeth Schmidt (who also received a first-round bye) moved
into the third round by defeating Ana Scharfield 6-1, 6-2.
Freshman Anica Cooper and sophomore Brandi Freudenberg posted
first round victories which moved them into the second round.
All four Bruin competitors are underclassmen and Freudenberg is
the only UCLA returner competing in this tournament.
Kocsis, UCLA’s top player and the top seed in the tournament,
has climbed from No. 10 in preseason national rankings to the
sixth-ranked player in the country.
Schmidt, the second seed, had a successful fall preseason with a
singles record of 11-3. She qualified for the Riviera All-American
Championships and in the Rolex West Regional she made the round of
16, where she fell to a top-seeded player in three sets. Schmidt’s
national ranking moved from No. 73 in preseason to a tie for No. 29
in the fall.
Cooper, the third-seeded player, advanced to the finals of the
Rolex West Regional and posted a 9-2 singles record in the fall.
Her singles ranking improved a tie for No. 85 to No. 39 in the fall
listings.
Freudenberg held a record of 4-3 for singles in the fall and
after winning her first three matches of preseason moved to the
pre-qualifying rounds of the Riviera All-American Tournament. At
the Rolex West Regional she reached the round of 32.
Daily Bruin File Photo
Brandi Freudenberg