By Rekha Rao
Daily Bruin Contributor
With a comeback victory in singles and a game-winning match in
doubles, the No. 9 UCLA women’s tennis team soared to victory
and to the fourth round of the NCAA Division I Championship Friday
after beating the University of Texas on Thursday by a score of
5-2.
“It was a good day for us, a good day for the team. This
shows what UCLA tennis is all about,” senior Elizabeth
Schmidt said. “We just gave it our all today.”
Head coach Stella Sampras pointed to senior leadership.
“This team wanted it. We have three seniors on this team, and
they have played against Texas before in the NCAAs,” she
said.
The No. 7 Texas team put up a good fight, claiming both of its
victories in the singles matches.
Freshman sensation Sara Walker, ranked No. 2 in the nation, fell
to No. 13 Janet Walker, 7-5, 2-6, 6-2.
The motivation match of the singles play came from Schmidt, who
came from behind to beat Texas’ Kaysie Smashey 3-6, 6-3,
6-0.
“There were close singles matches, and players like
Schmidt came back and won those key matches for us,” Sampras
said. “The Schmidt match was huge, coming back and winning in
the third.”
Schmidt didn’t worry about a letdown after falling
behind.
“Losing the first set was hard and I could have gotten
down, but I just had to think that this is my senior year, and
every match could be my last,” she said. “I got a
little confidence in the second set, and it carried over to the
third.”
In other singles play, freshman Abigail Spears continued her
dominance on the court, beating Texas’ Joanne Masongsong in
straight sets, 6-3, 6-2.
“I knew I just had to play aggressive, because she is a
good player and gets a lot of balls back,” Spears said.
Senior Annica Cooper showed her years of experience by clinching
a much-needed victory over Texas’ Michelle Faucher, 7-6,
7-5.
The doubles play secured the victory for the Bruins, who led 4-2
after the singles matches were played.
“Doubles is so much fun. We both had so much
energy,” Spears said of herself and Schmidt. “We just
came out big, we were being aggressive and doing everything that we
had been practicing to do.”
The Schmidt and Spears duo claimed a victory over the Texas team
of Masongsong and Smashey with a 8-5 score to ensure the
Bruins’ placement into the quarterfinal match Friday
afternoon.
“Abby (Spears) did awesome. It is hard to be a freshman in
that position, and she really stepped up. I am lucky to have her as
a partner,” Schmidt said.
“We had a really good chance of winning after taking a 4-2
lead in the singles,” Sampras said. “We just won those
key matches, and that was the clue here.”
In the quarterfinal match, the Bruins take on the No. 1 team in
the nation, the Stanford Cardinal. UCLA has lost two times to
Stanford already this year, once at home and once on the road, both
with a score of 7-2.
“We have to do the same thing, we have to go for our shots
and just be aggressive,” Spears said.
Coach Sampras was in full agreement.
“(Friday) is going to be a tough match. I am glad that we
had a chance to play some doubles out here today to get the nerves
out,” she said.
“We’re going to be ready. This team can really do
it; they have a lot of heart. We are playing our best tennis right
now. We’re excited and we are going to get after
them.”
The UCLA women’s tennis team will play Stanford Friday at
2 p.m. at the Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center at Pepperdine.