In a year that ended with a heartbreaking loss, the start to the
offseason hasn’t been any better for the UCLA women’s
tennis team.
Junior All-American Daniela Bercek, who anchored the Bruins at
the top singles position her first two years, decided earlier this
month that she will transfer to Duke.
Bercek, who had contacted Blue Devils coach Jamie Ashworth back
in January, is now waiting through an appeals process to determine
whether she will have to sit out a year once she arrives in
Durham.
Some of her teammates were surprised that she had even
considered transferring. “She didn’t tell us too much,
so I don’t know what to say,” freshman Riza Zalameda
said earlier this month. “It’s just between her and the
coaches. It’s hard to imagine.”
Neither Bercek nor UCLA coach Stella Sampras Webster returned
phone calls for this article.
Bercek, who won the NCAA Doubles Championships as a freshman,
posted a 14-5 record in dual singles matches this year. Ranked
tenth at the end of the year, she provided numerous clutch wins
during her two seasons in Westwood. In 2004, she did not drop a
match during the Bruins’ run to the NCAA finals, scoring the
most memorable win in a three-set victory over Miami’s Megan
Bradley ““ a win that moved UCLA into the semifinals.
In doubles, Bercek teamed with Zalameda, finishing this past
year with a 15-3 record at the top spot and a No. 4 ranking.
“She’s a very good partner,” Zalameda said.
“She’s very compatible. It’s going to be hard to
make up for.”
Losing a player of Bercek’s caliber is not entirely a new
phenomenon to the program. Three years ago, Bradley left UCLA after
her All-American freshman year to be closer to her personal coach
in Miami.
Bercek, in fact, becomes the sixth starter in the last four
years to leave the program early, and though the reasons have all
seemed to vary, it’s nevertheless a trend that has forced
Sampras Webster to bring new players into the mix every year.
Two years ago, Susi Wild, a freshman who played No. 3 singles,
quit tennis and returned to her native Germany according to the
Bruin coach. Last year, the Bruins lost a trio of starters.
Sophomores Jackie Carleton and Feriel Esseghir both had their
scholarships revoked because of attitude-related problems, while
redshirt junior Lauren Fisher opted to graduate with a year of
eligibility left.
Bercek will now join Carleton at Duke, which lost to North
Carolina in the NCAA Regionals this past year. According to
Ashworth, Bercek had expressed some interest in attending Duke
coming out of Novi Sad, Serbia in January 2004, but the school does
not accept incoming students in the middle of the school year.
If she is eligible to play next year, she will likely be the
highest-ranked player on a Duke squad that loses just one senior
from the 2005 season.