One down, many more to go.
The UCLA women’s tennis team officially opened its national title defense on Wednesday afternoon at the Los Angeles Tennis Center. The Bruins flattened Cal State Northridge, 7-0, for their first victory of the season.
“Overall, I think this was a good day for us,” coach Stella Sampras Webster said. “This was a good match to get us ready for Pepperdine, which will be a little bit stronger.”
Despite playing with a mixed lineup due to injury concerns, the Matadors presented no challenge to the Bruins. As it did much of last season en route to the championship, UCLA captured the vital doubles point by sweeping all three matches. This was a key development for the Bruin pairs, many of whom are adapting to new partners in light of the senior exodus.
“We’re all getting used to each other,” senior Ashley Joelson said. “(The pairings) have all been split in half with all the seniors leaving. It was really important to win the doubles point. For us, if we win that, we usually win the match.”
That would be the case on Wednesday. After several players opened their singles matches slowly, the No. 3 Bruins began to sprint away from the Matadors. The only contentious match was on Court 2, where UCLA sophomore Maya Johansson battled Northridge’s Nina Jaworowski long after the outcome of the dual match was decided.
A pair of freshmen stepped up for UCLA with the absence of singles regulars Stephanie Wetmore and Yasmin Schnack, both of whom were held out due to injury concerns. Carling Seguso dominated her match on Court 5, winning 6-3, 6-0, while fellow freshman Jordan Dockendorf won handily on Court 6, 6-2, 6-3.
“They kind of got their butterflies out,” Sampras Webster said. “It’s so unpredictable. Someone could get hurt and I always tell the team, “˜Be ready to play.’ Jordan stepped in and was ready to go for us.”
With the loss of former UCLA standout Riza Zalameda to graduation, Sampras Webster will be looking for a new player to compete at Court 1, often against the opponent’s best player. On Wednesday, sophomore Andrea Remynse fulfilled that role admirably. Remynse, who is the 31st ranked singles player in the country, dominated Northridge’s Evgeniya Vertesheva, 6-1, 6-0. After dropping the first game, Remynse captured 12 straight games to win the match.
Although the position is not solidified, Sampras Webster said she was impressed with the play of Remynse. She will continue to look at other options, however, including playing Schnack at No. 1.
“They’re both equally talented,” said Sampras Webster. “I think Remynse has a better record, but we’re going to keep trying some things and see what works best.”
Despite the easy victory, Sampras Webster noted areas that needed improvement. The Bruins often struggled to get their first serve in, and were shaky with volleys at the net. Overall, it was a nice win for a UCLA team with eyes on bigger things.
“It was really good to come out here and play a lot of matches and get back into the flow of things,” Joelson said.
The Bruins play at Pepperdine on Friday.