Monday, 4/7/97
Bruins split Bay Area contest
UCLA loses to Stanford but pulls off close win over
California
By Christie DeBeau
Daily Bruin Contributor
The UCLA women’s tennis team has never had an easy time with
Stanford, and Friday’s contest was no exception. The Bruins (12-4
overall, 5-2 Pac-10) lost to the Cardinal 6-3 at Stanford, making
their all-time series record 12-46. However, the weekend was
somewhat salvaged when No. 3 UCLA posted a win against No. 11
California, 5-4, on Saturday at Berkeley.
Second-ranked Stanford (20-1, 6-0) continued its perfect
conference play, a quality of play that the Bruins were just not
able to match in the schools’ first matchup of the season.
"As a whole, the team is playing pretty well," UCLA head coach
Stella Sampras said. "(Friday’s) match was a tough one, but this
was the first time we played Stanford. They play at a high level
and (UCLA) needs to get used to it. We need to play well to beat
their top players and our players saw that."
For their next match against the Cardinal (April 19 at the
LATC), the Bruins will need to concentrate on every point and not
give away anything in order to win.
"At the next level, we need to win the points," Sampras said.
"We need to play well and continue to not make unforced errors and
give away points. We really need to earn every point, win the big
points and play extremely well. I definitely think we can beat
them. We just need a little luck and to play some good tennis."
The loss to Stanford was a disappointing one, but the Bruins
were able to look past their defeat and emerge victorious against
Cal.
"We were ready to play Stanford and after losing to them it was
disappointing," Sampras said. "But, we were really ready to play
(Saturday). It is tough coming back from a loss so I am pleased
with how we played. Cal is a good team in both singles and
doubles."
The match against Cal was a tight one, where victory came down
to the No. 1 doubles teams. UCLA sophomore Kati Kocsis and freshman
Elizabeth Schmidt barely defeated their opponents, 8-6, clinching
the UCLA win.
UCLA has a young team this year, and this past weekend provided
it with valuable experience for the impending NCAA playoffs.
"For six of these girls, it is their first year playing at the
collegiate level," Sampras said. "They are going through (the) year
new and to them this is a lot of tennis but they are doing
great."
Stanford 6, UCLA 3
UCLA 5, Cal 4