They played without one of their top players. They played
against a strong opponent for the first time. But those factors
didn’t affect the outcome of the match.
Despite going into Saturday’s match against Pepperdine
without Daniela Bercek, the UCLA women’s tennis team pulled
out an impressive 5-2 victory against the Waves. Although Bercek,
who played No. 1 singles and doubles in the first two matches, was
out with the flu, the Bruins (3-0) felt no apprehension as they
stepped onto their respective courts.
“We weren’t anxious,” coach Stella Sampras
Webster said. “We knew we needed to play hard today, and
everyone did an awesome job.”
Indeed, the No. 4 Bruins were nothing short of spectacular in
doubles, winning all three matches. The team of Elizabeth Lumpkin
and Laura Gordon had the closest score of 8-6. Playing on Court 1,
freshmen Riza Zalameda and Alex McGoodwin displayed great chemistry
despite not playing with each other before. The duo took care of
Pepperdine’s Caroline Raba and Sylvia Kosakowski 8-3.
“It was great playing with Riza,” said McGoodwin,
who played with Lumpkin in the team’s first two matches.
“Since she has such a strong game at the net, I set her up
with my serves.”
With the absence of Bercek, there were a host of Bruins that
rose to the occasion. Senior Sarah Gregg, freshman Elizabeth
Lumpkin, and junior Laura Gordon, each defeated their opponents in
straight sets on Courts 4, 5, and 6 respectively.
Gordon, who was sidelined earlier in the season from a mild case
of tendonitis in her wrist, played her first match this season and
nicely filled the hole in the lineup left by Bercek.
In the No. 2 spot, Caroline Raba kept Pepperdine’s hopes
alive when she beat McGoodwin, 6-3, 6-4. However, UCLA clinched the
match at 4-1 when Gregg knocked off Sylvia Kosakowski, 6-0, 7-5.
Pepperdine’s only other point came when Bianca Dulgheru
defeated Tracy Lin on Court 3.
Despite suffering a couple of lost points, Sampras Webster
commended her players on their growth as a team.
“This victory showed me that the team is mature about
facing adversity,” she said.
The Bruins will confront plenty of adversity this week as they
travel to Madison, Wis., Thursday for the National Team
Indoors.