Friday, February 13, 1998
Victory over LMU not harbinger of USC play
WTENNIS: No. 2 Bruins can’t afford to overlook 25th-ranked
Trojans
By Jared Hummel
Daily Bruin Contributor
Rankings, records and predictions will be thrown out the window
as the UCLA women’s tennis team faces off against USC today. It’s
No. 2 vs. No. 25.
Despite their impressive 4-1 season record and No. 2 ranking,
the Bruins will have their hands full as they battle the Women of
Troy in dual-match play.
USC is one of only three schools with whom UCLA has a losing
record. They currently hold a 30-25 advantage over the Bruins in
this match’s storied history.
"They are going to come out wanting to beat us," UCLA Head Coach
Stella Sampras said. "It’s going to be a tough match – it should be
exciting because it is our home-town rival. Every time we play ‘SC
it’s exciting because there’s a lot of history behind our
matches."
In their two meetings last season, UCLA swept USC, 5-4 on the
road and 7-2 at the Los Angeles Tennis Center.
"With USC you never know," senior Kelly Rudolph said. "They have
good players – it’s just a matter of whether or not they show up.
You always have to take them seriously."
The Bruins will have new life as All-American sophomore Katia
Roubanova is slated to play in her first match of the season; she
has recovered adequately enough from a stress injury to her foot to
play in a doubles match today.
UCLA’s top player, sophomore Amanda Basica, will have to watch
her older sister, Amber, from the sideline as she remains on the
injury list with a strained shoulder. Senior Amber Basica will
compete in both the No. 6 position and in doubles for USC.
***
The dark clouds which loomed overhead at the Los Angeles Tennis
Center yesterday paralleled the day for Loyola Marymount
University, as they were once again victimized by the Bruins.
UCLA continued their supremacy over LMU, extending their perfect
streak against the Lions to 6-0 in the match’s history.
UCLA failed to lose a match as they posted a 7-0 blowout which
could have been worse if the rains had not prevented the final two
doubles matches from being played.
Sophomore Annica Cooper led the Bruin blitzkrieg with a 6-0,6-2
win over senior Mara Colaizzi; following her lead with straight
sets victories were sophomore Elizabeth Schmidt, junior Kati
Kocsis, senior Kelly Rudolph and junior Brandi Freudenberg. Junior
Alyson Gray decided to make her match interesting by losing the
first game 3-6, but battled back to win the next two 7-6, 6-1.
"I felt really good, confident and I knew I was going to win as
soon as the warm-ups started," junior Brandi Freudenberg said.
The Bruins are playing well and their confidence is notably
increasing. However, after a match like this, they must be sure not
to get overconfident – especially against a talented USC team.
DERRICK KUDO
Elizabeth Schmidt during a game against UNLV.