It’s that time of the season when UCLA women’s
tennis players would like to take a break, but just can’t.
Although they played three of the top teams in the nation last
weekend at the National Indoors Championships and are currently in
the middle of midterm exams, the matches don’t stop.
With home matches against UC Irvine today and Fresno State
tomorrow, the Bruins’ minds and bodies are struggling, but
they are hoping their record won’t. The Bruins (2-3) hold an
all-time record of 30-2 against the Anteaters and 6-1 against the
No. 21 Bulldogs.
“We need to improve and not just go through the
motions,” coach Stella Sampras Webster said.
After losing two-straight matches at the indoor tournament, UCLA
knows physical endurance is one area where the team needs
improvement.
In its 6-1 loss to Stanford last Friday, UCLA lost all three of
its three-set matches. So, even if the Bruins’ bodies are
weary and their minds exhausted, Sampras Webster is reluctant to
take it too easy.
“Every time we come back (from National Indoors), they
have midterms and are tired the first few days (back),” she
said. “But as we go through the week, we’re going to
train harder and work on conditioning.”
The Bruins will also need to address their doubles teams. In the
three losses this season, the Bruins lost the doubles’ point
each time and failed to take a set off Vanderbilt on Saturday.
Sampras Webster is considering juggling the lineup she used for
the first five matches. Today’s match will be as good a time
as any to experiment with new pairings, as the Bruins have given up
only two points to the Anteaters in their last three meetings.
Besides doubles, the Bruins also hope to work on some facets of
their singles game.
“We need to play more aggressively, finish points at the
net, work on our serve percentage, and mix in some serve and
volley,” Sampras Webster said.
With or without more aggressive play, freshman Daniela
Bercek’s return will make UCLA a better team than it was last
weekend. After missing the last two matches because of illness, the
only undefeated Bruin on the season will step back into the No. 2
position.
“It was tough because the team needed me,” Bercek
said of missing the Stanford and Vanderbilt matches.
“I’m looking forward to playing again.”
Junior Lauren Fisher, who is still recovering from an elbow
injury she suffered last year, is also expected to play singles in
both matches.
“We’ve been conservative in how much we’re
playing her because we’re looking towards May,” Sampras
Webster said.
But May is still a long ways away, especially when the matches
and midterms never seem to end.