Friday, 5/16/97 UCLA sends Volunteers home W.TENNIS Bruins
breeze through first round, will move on to face Texas
By Christie DeBeau Daily Bruin Contributor The No. 3 UCLA
women’s tennis team may not have been as sharp as usual in its NCAA
first-round match-up Thursday, but the Bruins were still able to
dominate No. 13 Tennessee at Stanford’s Taube Stadium. After a
three-week layoff in dual match competition, UCLA (16-5) trounced
the Volunteers with a 5-0 win and advanced to today’s quarterfinal
matchup with Texas at 11 a.m. "Under the circumstances, (with us
being at) the NCAA Tournament and this being our first match in a
while, everyone was a little nervous," UCLA head coach Stella
Sampras said. "(The team) was not as sharp as they were earlier in
the season, but they regrouped and were able to win all their
matches. The first-round match is always tough because of all the
pressure." Although the team may have not been playing its best,
the Bruins were excited to play and to have succeeded. "Everyone
was ready to play Tennessee, and they did make us play," Sampras
said. "Everyone did what they had to do to win, and they did it
well." The Bruins lost only two sets on the afternoon – freshman
Annica Cooper and Katia Roubanova were both forced to play three
sets. Due to the sweep in singles play, no doubles contests were
necessary. The extra rest should bode well for the Bruins, since
there are less than 24 hours between matches. However, their
opponent in the quarterfinals will also be well rested. Texas
(23-5) swept Arizona 5-0 in its first-round contest. "We feel good
too about playing Texas, and I think that we will play even better
this match," Sampras said. "We will have had one match under our
belt and are excited to play them." The two clubs last met in 1992.
Texas rolls into the second round as one of the hottest teams in
the country. Including their victory over Arizona, the sixth-ranked
Longhorns have won 11 consecutive matches. They are led by Cristina
Moros (13-5) and No. 2 Sandy Sureephong (23-2). "It will be a tough
match; they must be playing well to beat Arizona in singles,"
Sampras said. "We will have to play better than today in order to
beat them." The winner of the UCLA-Texas contest will battle the
Florida-Arizona State match winner in Saturday’s semifinals at 9
a.m. * * * In other tournament action: Top-ranked Florida won its
60th dual match in a row with a 5-0 sweep over Michigan. The Gators
did not lose one set on the afternoon, winning 72 of the 94 games.
Seventh-ranked Arizona State set up a quarterfinal matchup with
Florida with a 5-1 victory over Mississippi. Duke swept Pepperdine
5-0 and will meet California, who defeated Wake Forest, 5-2. Host
Stanford beat Wisconsin 5-0 and will battle William and Mary, a 5-0
victor over Georgia. Related Links: NCAA