Jackie Carleton and Feriel Esseghir will not be returning to the
UCLA women’s tennis team next season, coach Stella Sampras
Webster confirmed.
Carleton and Esseghir played at the No. 2 and No. 3 singles
spots respectively during the Bruins’ run to the finals of
the NCAA tournament this past season and played together as the No.
2 doubles team.
“They will be better off at a different program,”
Sampras Webster said.
At an end of the year meeting, both players were informed that
their scholarships were being revoked because of attitude related
problems, according to Carleton.
“We’ve had problems the whole two years I’ve
been here,” Carleton said of her relationship with Sampras
Webster. “We were just in two different
worlds. I’m really fiery and competitive on the court,
and (Sampras Webster) is just calm and low key.”
Nevertheless, the decision came as a shock to Carleton.
“I didn’t feel like I did anything to have my
scholarship revoked,” she said. “Usually, you get
your scholarship revoked for partying or doing drugs or something
like that. We hadn’t gotten into huge fights. She thought I
should be more composed on the court.”
Carleton, a native of Pennsylvania, has already decided to
transfer to Duke, where she will be able to play in the upcoming
season.
She started this past season at the No. 1 position and later
moved to the No. 2 spot in April when Daniela Bercek emerged as the
team’s top singles player. In her two seasons at UCLA,
Carleton accumulated a dual match record of 26-21 and earned
All-American status her freshman year.
But despite the individual accolade and the team’s overall
success, Carleton still felt something was missing.
“I don’t feel like it’s a very positive
environment,” Carleton said. “We work hard, but
we’re not having fun.
“You’re out there every day for four hours, you need
to be out there and have fun and crack a smile sometimes,”
she added.
In spite of some of her frustrations with the on-court
atmosphere, there are aspects of UCLA that Carleton will miss.
“I really liked the school,” she
said. “The one thing sad about leaving is that I love my
teammates.”
Nevertheless, she is looking forward to moving to another elite
tennis program. The Blue Devils reached the quarterfinals of the
NCAA tournament this past season, before falling to eventual
champion Stanford 4-0. In Carleton’s freshman year, Duke
knocked off the Bruins 4-0 in the quarterfinals.
“When I look back on it, I know I am going to be going to
a better place,” Carleton said.
Esseghir, who could not be reached for comment, is currently
training in Florida. She missed most of her freshman year due to a
foot injury, but came back at the end of the season to go 4-4. The
Algerian native who attended the Brickhouse Academy in Florida her
senior year in high school, finished 11-16 in dual matches this
past season.
In doubles, she and Carleton paired together and went 20-11
during their two seasons, finishing 2004 ranked 49th. All the
records and rankings will have to be earned at other schools
now.
“I could have reasoned with (Sampras Webster), but I
didn’t want to play for a coach that didn’t want
me,” Carleton said. Â Â
With reports from Seth Fast Glass, Bruin sports senior staff