Just when the UCLA women’s tennis lineup seems to be
stabilizing, it’s getting shaken up once again.
Heading into the Washington State match Saturday, the Bruins had
fielded practically the same lineup for nine straight matches, a
surprising trend considering the frequent shuffling of starters
last year and earlier this season due to injuries.
It’s a lineup that had finally given the Bruins three
solid doubles teams and led them to wins in eight of those nine
matches.
The only problem was with the lopsidedness of that one loss.
While their lineup in the past month has gotten them past the likes
of the Arizona schools and an injury-plagued California squad, it
simply didn’t match up in their 7-0 shutout loss against
top-ranked Stanford.
So when the Cardinal and a healthier Golden Bear team come to
Westwood this weekend, the Bruins are looking to offer up something
more.
“We don’t just want to get to the quarterfinals this
year,” coach Stella Sampras Webster said.
The first move was switching sophomore Jackie Carleton and
freshman Daniela Bercek at the No. 1 and No. 2 positions. Carleton
had been a mainstay at the top spot throughout the season, but her
recent losses against Pepperdine and Washington, coupled with
Bercek’s impressive third-set super-tiebreak victories in
each of those matches, led Sampras Webster to make the move before
the Washington State match.
“Jackie’s been struggling the last couple
matches,” Sampras Webster said. “We need her to get
some confidence and some wins.”
Back at the position she occupied for most of her freshman
season, Carleton won her first match at No. 2 against the
Cougars’ Orsolya Sallai, 7-6, 1-6, 6-2.
She has been completely accepting of the decision to move down
in the lineup.
“I wanted to go back to No. 2,” she said.
“I’ve been a little off, and every match at No. 1 is
tough. Hopefully, I’ll be able to get a couple wins and get
back into it.”
While the decision at the top of the lineup may not have been a
tough one, Sampras Webster will face a difficult one in the
upcoming matches.
With freshman Alex McGoodwin cleared to play for the first time
in over two months, the Bruin coach will have to decide how she
fits into the lineup. Although she is unwilling to shuffle the
current doubles lineup that has begun to gel, determining if and
where McGoodwin plays in singles is another story.
“We don’t quite know where Alex is at because she
hasn’t been able to play all-out yet,” Sampras Webster
said.
And unfortunately for the Bruins, they do not have the luxury of
evaluating her in a non-crucial match situation. All that’s
left of the regular season are two matches against arguably the
toughest teams in the conference.