Thursday, March 5, 1998
Victory bodes well for Bruins as team prepares to face USC
W. TENNIS: Despite unfortunate injuries, UCLA has pulled it
together to win key matches
By Jared Hummel
Daily Bruin Contributor
Call it a warm-up for Southern Cal.
The UCLA women’s tennis team battered around the Broncos of
Boise State yesterday at the Sunset Recreation Center, 8-1.
The Bruins had hoped to iron out some of the problem areas which
have hurt their play of late.
They appeared to have done this adequately.
"It was an impressive victory; we are getting better and
improving," UCLA head coach Stella Sampras said. "It was a great
match to get us ready for USC on Saturday."
A recent string of injuries have plagued this Bruin team,
leading to a mild losing streak where they dropped three of four.
UCLA lost two of three in Madison, Wis., at the U.S. Tennis
Association and the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Tournament
and fell to Pepperdine on the road on Feb. 27.
The spotlight recently has been on sophomore Katia Roubanova,
the team’s No. 1 doubles player and a returning All-American. She
is trying to overcome a foot injury which had kept her out of the
first six dual matches.
And it seems as though she is well on her way to recovery as she
notched a victory, along with her partner sophomore Elizabeth
Schmidt, over Boise State’s No. 1 duo of Pia-Lena Ander and Taryn
Weir-Smith.
"Doubles played really well today, especially Katia Roubanova,"
Sampras said. "She is feeling a lot more confident, and she’s
getting better and better."
In singles action, the Bruins dominated, winning five of six.
No. 1 sophomore player Annica Cooper easily won her 11th match in
12 tries as she bettered senior Manon Buskens.
Schmidt rebounded from a recent slide by defeating freshman
Pia-Lena Ander 6-3, 6-2, and senior Kelly Rudolph was the usual
solid No. 4 player beating senior Anita Pearson 6-3, 6-0.
The only blemish on the singles front came from freshman
Cristina Popescu who fell 6-2, 6-1 in the competitive No. 2 slot.
However, Popescu was playing No. 2 for the first time this season –
since returning from a hamstring pull, she has ascended to this
position from No. 5.
UCLA will travel to USC on Saturday in what will undoubtedly be
another addition to the storied rivalry. Their last meeting, on
Feb. 13, came down to the final doubles match before being decided
in a tight win by Brandi Freudenberg and Popescu, 5-4.