The No. 11 UCLA women’s tennis team finished the regular season with unwavering team chemistry. Now, the Bruins (17-6, 5-3 Pac-10) will go their separate ways on separate courts over the next four days to compete in the Pac-10 Championships, an individual-style tournament that will determine the conference’s overall singles and doubles champions.
“There’s always two ways of looking at tournaments like this,” junior Stephanie Wetmore said. “One way, you could say, “˜Oh, it doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things,’ or you could say, “˜This really matters because it’s the first stepping stone on the way to a national title.’ I think (the latter) is the way we all looked at it last year, and that helped us a lot.”
The 2008 Bruins rode the wake of then-senior Riza Zalameda’s Pac-10 singles championship win all the way to a national title in Tulsa, Okla. Coach Stella Sampras Webster has similarly optimistic feelings about this year’s tournament.
“We need to use this tournament to get better and peak toward the NCAA (Tournament),” Sampras Webster said.
Four Bruins ““ junior Yasmin Schnack, sophomores Andrea Remynse and Maya Johansson, and freshman Nina Pantic ““ managed to qualify for the event’s main draw. Four others ““ Wetmore, senior Anna-Viktoria Lind, and freshmen Carling Seguso and Jordan Dockendorf ““ will play in the tournament’s invitational bracket.
Senior Ashley Joelson will sit out of the singles competition due to a reaggravation of the rib injury that forced her to miss much of the second half of last season, but she will compete with Pantic in the doubles draw. Joining Pantic and Joelson in the doubles portion of the event are Schnack and Remynse, the No. 3-ranked tandem in the nation, as well as Wetmore and Seguso.
Despite the Bruins’ enthusiasm heading into the postseason, UCLA heads into the Pac-10 Championships on a downswing of sorts after losing to rival No. 7 USC (20-2, 8-0) in the last match of the regular season. The team is looking to utilize this weekend’s action to recapture some lost momentum.
“I think (losing to USC) will affect us in a positive way because we want to get back on that winning streak so it’ll make us work harder,” Schnack said. “It’s a good thing for us.”
In last year’s Pac-10 Championships, UCLA also qualified four players for the main draw, but only one of those players ““ Remynse ““ was not lost to graduation. The experience is a new one for Schnack, Johansson and Pantic.
“People always put more emphasis on dual matches because it’s a team environment, and other people are relying on you,” Wetmore said. “But individual tournaments are great because you can go out and put it on the line for yourself, and if you mess up, you mess up.”
Sampras Webster noted that while it is helpful to get as much competition as possible before the NCAA Tournament, her players will be sporting a take-no-prisoners mentality for the Pac-10 Championships.
“Each player needs to go in and try to win this tournament,” she said. “I’m hoping everyone goes out and really gives it their all.”