Wednesday, January 21, 1998
Fresh out of stellar Pac-10 tourney, injury-ridden Bruins host
Anteaters
PREVIEW Top player Basica’s participation dubious; UCLA faces
UCI with mixed lineup
By Jared Hummel
Daily Bruin Contributor
After a solid run through a series of tournaments which began
during the first week of October, the UCLA women’s tennis team will
square off against UC Irvine today in its first dual match of the
season at the Los Angeles Tennis Center.
UCLA head coach Stella Sampras’s team, currently boasting a No.
2 ranking, is fresh off an impressive performance in Seattle,
Wash., where they competed at the Pac-10 Indoor Tennis
Championships.
In singles action, lone senior Kelly Rudolph won by forfeiture
in the finals of the second flight of the tournament, when Arizona
State’s Kathy Propstra had to withdraw because of an injury
incurred in her match against UCLA’s Cristina Popescu. En route to
the victory, Rudolph knocked off Allison Sosnow of the University
of Oregon, 6-1, 6-3, and Peggy Wu of the University of Washington
in a hard-fought match, 4-6, 7-5, 7-6(7).
Sophomore Annica Cooper succeeded to reach the finals before
falling to California’s Amanda Augustus, who entered tournament
play with a national ranking of 32nd.
Injuries have mixed up UCLA’s lineup. The Bruin’s No. 1 player,
sophomore Amanda Basica, is questionable for today’s match with an
ailing shoulder. Sophomore Katia Roubanova will be out for two
weeks due to a reinjured foot. Junior Kati Kocsis has been cleared
to play but in moderation. She will be limited to either a singles
or a doubles match.
Cooper will most likely take the No. 1 spot if Basica is not
cleared to play. Cooper is coming off a victory at the Milwaukee
Tennis Classic, where she won decisively over Duke’s Kathy Sell in
straight sets.
UC Irvine is coming off a sub-par season last year in which they
finished 11th at the Big West Championship with a 10-15 record.
UCLA has a 25-2 record against the Anteaters overall.