By Jeff Agase
Daily Bruin Contributor
Two matches plus three hours plus two shutouts equals one ticket
to the NCAA Championship Round of 16 for the No. 9 UCLA
women’s tennis team.
In the NCAA Regionals held over the weekend at the Los Angeles
Tennis Center, the Bruins turned in one of their most impressive
performances of the year. They pummeled Boston University 6-0 in
the first round on Friday and crushed No. 33 Georgia Tech by the
same score the following day.
UCLA head coach Stella Sampras couldn’t have asked for a
better first round performance from her team, especially her two
freshman players.
“It was a good day,” she said. “For our
freshmen it was a really good match for them to play and get behind
them, because the first match is always pretty tough. I think they
showed this team why we are ranked in the top ten. We should be
playing this well.”
UCLA got things started on Friday against the Terriers an hour
tardy because of the late finish of the match between No. 25
Washington and Georgia Tech, but the schedule change didn’t
faze the determined Bruins.
Senior Elizabeth Schmidt started the barrage with a 45-minute
victory over BU’s Chrissy Cerretani in the number five
singles position 6-1, 6-0. Fellow senior Amanda Basica turned in an
equally dominating performance at the number three singles slot
with a 6-0, 6-1 thumping of the Terriers’ Karina
Shostakovsky.
Recently named Pac-10 Freshman of the Year, Sara Walker
effortlessly moved BU’s number one player, Selin Nassi,
around the court, waiting for an opening and placing the ball
wherever she pleased. Walker, the number two ranked singles player
in the nation, blew Nassi away in straight sets 6-0, 6-2.
Freshman Abigail Spears and sophomore Catherine Hawley, two
Bruins who have become dependable staples in the number four and
six singles positions, respectively, issued easy wins. Spears
defeated Carrie Rose 6-4, 6-0, while Hawley waxed Alana Marcu by
the count of 6-1, 6-0.
Annica Cooper finished off Christina Causway in the number two
slot 6-3, 6-1, and in doing so finished off the Terriers in just
over an hour, leaving them wondering what had just raced by them so
quickly and powerfully.
What had just sped by was a businesslike Bruin squad that
desired to leave no doubters; especially after an early exit from
the NCAA Championships last season when they were upset by South
Alabama .
“A great way to start things off,” Hawley said of
the shutout. “Everyone just took care of business and we all
felt really cohesive. We all did what we needed to do individually
but the support was still there to get it done together.”
Their mission was overwhelmingly accomplished, with a 72-13
thrashing in overall games and a Saturday date with Georgia Tech.
The Yellow Jackets were a 5-3 upset winner over Washington earlier
in the day.
On Saturday against Georgia Tech, the Bruins took a 2-0 lead
before hitting a single groundstroke, as the Yellow Jackets’
Laura Ozolins was forced to default her number six singles and
number three doubles matches because of an injury sustained in her
team’s upset of Washington.
It was relatively smooth sailing from then on, with only a few
turbulent rockings of the Bruin boat.
Walker checked in with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Sabrina Pardo at No.
1, while Cooper and Schmidt overcame early Yellow Jacket surges to
sting their opponents. Schmidt won in a close first set tiebreaker
but kicked her game into high gear in the second set and won 7-6
(5), 6-1 over Charlotte Pernet.
Schmidt said that she was thrown off initially by Pernet’s
unorthodox style of play, which involved the lack of solid contact
and shots with a great deal of topspin.
Schmidt also added that the Bruins’ 2-0 advantage they
carried into the contest was a bit of a mixed blessing
“That’s sometimes the hardest position to be in
because you loosen up a bit, feeling like you don’t have to
do much,” she said. “You have to keep intensity and
focus and pretend you’re down 2-0. I think our team handled
it really well.”
UCLA now heads up the coast to Pepperdine University in Malibu,
Calif., for the NCAA Championships Round of 16. The Bruins will
cross paths with the winner of the Regional Final between Texas and
Baylor. Either way, UCLA will face a top-20 ranked team.
Schmidt didn’t understate the wins, even if they
didn’t come against teams from the upper echelon.
“I think it’s important,” she said. “It
sends a message to other people that we’re here to play and
take care of business.”