For most of the No. 11 UCLA women’s tennis team, traveling to the campus of Texas A&M, the site of this year’s final rounds of the NCAA Tournament, is a new experience.
For senior Ashley Joelson, it is a homecoming. Joelson hails from Austin but comes from a family of Aggies. Her parents, Brian and Teresa Joelson, and her older brother, Brett Joelson, all attended Texas A&M and represented the Aggies on the tennis courts.
Brian Joelson is one of the top Texas A&M tennis players of all time, ranking second on the school’s all-time dual match doubles wins (66) and fourth in dual match singles wins (73). Brett Joelson was one of the top recruits in the nation prior to the 2003 season.
The Bruins will take on the No. 6 Miami (Florida) Hurricanes in the round of 16 this morning at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center, the Joelson family’s old stomping grounds. Ashley Joelson said she is happy to end her collegiate career in her home state but also wistful as her career as a Bruin draws to a close.
“It’s awesome that I get to finish tennis where it all started,” she said.
The Bruins wrapped up the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday with an exciting 4-3 win over Arizona State. Freshman Nina Pantic provided the exclamation point with her victory over Sun Devil senior Laila Abdala. After being down 5-3 in the second set and one game away from elimination, Pantic won the final 10 games of the match, winning 4-6, 7-5, 6-0.
Despite the inspirational win, UCLA coach Stella Sampras Webster insists that while it was a crucial moment for the team’s tournament hopes, the Bruins have put it behind them and are focusing solely on the Hurricanes.
“We’ve certainly talked about it a little bit, but we’ve moved on,” Sampras Webster said. “We’re not really riding on that (win) now. We’re riding on getting ready for this match. We’ve moved on from regionals.”
Ashley Joelson admits that there is a sense of mystery surrounding the Hurricanes. The Bruins have not played Miami in her entire time in Westwood. However, UCLA has had considerably more tournament success in recent years than Miami, advancing to the finals before falling to Georgia Tech in 2007 and winning the championship over California last season.
“I don’t know if they’ve ever got past the round of 16,” Joelson said. “We’re going in with a lot of confidence, and we really believe as a team that we can beat the Miami Hurricanes.”
Sampras Webster is more familiar with the Hurricanes but still believes her team can advance to the quarterfinals.
“I know that Miami is a very feisty team, a very good team that’s had a great season,” she said. “We’re going to have to play well to beat them. We’ve got to play some of our best tennis to beat them, and right now we’re playing better than we have all season.”