Friday, April 19, 1996
Second shot against Cardinal looms, but Bears are first in
lineBy Hye Kwon
Daily Bruin Staff
With three weeks remaining until the national championships
begin at Tallahassee, Fla., the fifth-ranked UCLA women’s tennis
team travels to the Bay Area this weekend for a pair of matches
against California and Stanford.
This long-anticipated road trip features two teams in the top
seven of the preseason rankings. Since then, Stanford has risen to
No. 2.
Cal, on the other hand, is an entirely different story. The
Bears, whom the Bruins play this afternoon, have been struggling
all year. And after losing six matches in a row in their latest
road trip, the team’s postseason picture looks grim.
However, one thing the Bears might have working on their side is
UCLA’s showdown against Stanford on Saturday. If the Bruins think
they can overlook today’s match, they might run into a lot of
trouble with a young Bear squad that is more than capable of
pulling an upset.
Stanford, in contrast to their arch-nemesis across the bay, has
been nearly unstoppable this season. The only team that has been
able to draw blood against the Cardinal was No. 1 Florida in the
National Indoor Tournament earlier this season.
Although Stanford has already clinched the Pacific 10 Southern
Division title by winning eight straight matches, Saturday’s match
against UCLA is no less crucial. Both teams want to muster as much
momentum as possible going into NCAAs, and what better way to do
that than beating a top-five team.
When the two teams met in Los Angeles two weeks ago, the
Cardinal squeaked by UCLA 5-4. In that match, the victor was not
decided until the third set of the No. 3 doubles match
concluded.
This time, the Bruins should encounter much more difficult
playing conditions in the not-so-friendly confines of Stanford
Tennis Stadium.
PATRICK LAM/Daily Bruin
Brandi Freudenberg and the UCLA women’s tennis team close out
the regular season this weekend in the Bay Area.