Four times this season the eighth-ranked women’s tennis
team has taken the court against a top-10 opponent, and four times
they have come up a little bit short.
Today, the Bruins (8-4) will take an ugly streak of four
consecutive 4-3 losses to top-10 teams across town, as they attempt
to right the ship against No. 2 USC (10-1).
“This is an important match for us and a huge
opportunity,” UCLA head coach Stella Sampras Webster said.
“We want to get our best team out there and give ourselves a
chance to beat them.”
This will be the second meeting between the two teams this
season. In January, the Trojans took the doubles point and split
the singles matches en route to a 4-3 win at the Los Angeles Tennis
Center. The young Bruins insist the experience of half of a season
has made them a better team than they were when they first faced
USC.
“This team has improved, and having Ferriel (Esseghir) and
(Lauren) Fisher in the lineup is definitely going to make our
doubles better,” Sampras Webster said.
“Singles-wise, Susi Wild has been playing excellent and
Jackie (Carleton) is playing better. It’s great to see the
improvement and hopefully they will show it against
‘SC.”
While UCLA clearly has improved in the last month, the Trojans
have been terrific over that same span, winning five of six
matches. They defeated then-No. 3 Georgia 5-2 at the National Team
Indoors and crushed No. 7 Arizona State 7-0 two weekends ago in
Tempe.
The Bruins continue to be bothered by injuries, but they expect
to be aided by the return of Esseghir to the lineup. The freshman
has missed the entire dual-match season with a foot injury. Fisher
is also expected to be available, though it will be a match-time
decision.
“I’m planning on playing,” Fisher said.
“I’m not going to go out there if I can’t play,
but at this point my elbow feels fine.”
Today will be the last regular season collegiate match between
close friends and long-time rivals No. 3 Jewel Peterson and No. 6
Sara Walker.
Walker has been bothered by a hamstring injury for the last
week, but plans to play today.
“I’m not 100 percent; my leg is still really
tight,” Walker said. “I really want to play but
we’ll see.”
UCLA will likely field its standard singles lineup of Walker,
Carleton, Wild, Sarah Gregg, Laura Gordon and Anya Loncaric, but
the doubles lineup will likely be an unfamiliar one. The insertion
of Esseghir and Fisher into the line-up will significantly shake up
the doubles teams, but the Bruins expect the additions to make them
better.
“It depends what teams we put together, but hopefully
having (Esseghir and me) in the lineup will make our doubles a lot
deeper and stronger.”
The doubles point has been elusive for the Bruins in their
losses to top-10 schools, but they know it will be critical for
them to find a way to take it if they are going to defeat USC.
Despite the daunting task of defeating a Trojan team rich in
talent and experience, UCLA isn’t lacking in confidence.
“Everyone is excited, it would be a great win to knock
them off,” Fisher said. “I think we all believe that we
can beat any team in the country on a given day. We are confident
in our team’s ability, it’s just a matter of
executing.”