Just days after UCLA’s remarkable run to the NCAA Finals, the women’s tennis team was back on the court for the individual singles and doubles championships. But the UCLA individuals were unable to go as deep into the tournament as the entire team.
Junior Tracy Lin advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Singles Championships in Athens, Ga., before falling to Baylor’s Zuzana Zemenova, the 2005 NCAA singles champion, in straight sets. Lin was unable to fight back after dropping the first set. After winning the second set in a tiebreak, she dropped the third and final set to the Baylor junior, losing the match 6-2, 6-7(3), 6-2.
Despite the defeat, Lin’s run was the most successful of all the participating Bruins. After winning her opening round match against Gira Schofield of South Carolina, Lin pulled off a significant second-round upset over No. 8-seeded Megan Moulton-Levy of William and Mary before following that with a 6-4, 7-6(3) victory in the Round of 16 over Florida’s Csilla Borsanyi.
The run caps a successful, yet at times tumultuous, season for the junior. Earlier this season in a home match against crosstown rival USC, Lin was unable to complete her match because of sickness and needed to be carted off the courts, giving USC the clinching point in a tough 4-3 loss. Lin, however, would play a key role in UCLA’s stunning NCAA Tournament run. She won key matches in both the Round of 16 matchup against Northwestern and the shocking upset of perennial power Stanford in the semifinals.
ZALAMEDA, SCHNACK FALL: Junior Riza Zalameda, one of the top Bruin players for most of the year, and freshman star Yasmin Schnack were not as lucky as Lin, as both were upset in the first round.
Zalameda fell to Texas Christian University’s Ana Cetnik in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3. Schnack took an easy first set before dropping the final two to Catrina Thompson of Notre Dame, falling 1-6, 6-1, 6-4. Zalameda and Schnack were integral parts of UCLA’s tournament run, capturing key victories in both doubles and singles play. Schnack was the only UCLA singles player to capture a point in the NCAA final against the Yellow Jackets.
UCLA DOUBLES: In doubles, Zalameda and Schnack fared better, advancing to the Round of 16 in the NCAA Doubles Tournament after defeating the Kentucky tandem of Joelle Schwenk and Kim Coventry in a three-set battle in the first round of play.
After dropping the opening set of the match, the Bruins’ top doubles team rallied for a 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory. The Round of 16 was not as kind to the Bruins, as they were unable to overcome Ani Mijacika and Federica van Adrichem of Clemson. The UCLA doubles tandem rallied to take the second set before dropping the third, resulting in a 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 loss.
Zalameda and Schnack played a key part in UCLA’s doubles dominance during the tournament, as the pair did not drop a doubles point throughout team competition. Their success in Athens, Ga. included capturing one of UCLA’s two points in the final against Georgia Tech and a crucial doubles point against Stanford.