UCLA sophomore tennis player Abigail Spears won the 2000 Edmond
Medical Center Women’s Satellite in Edmond, Okla. last
Sunday.
She defeated fourth-seeded Kyung-Mi Chang of Korea, overcoming a
demoralizing 6-1 loss in the first set to take the next two 6-4,
6-3.
“I was double-faulting a lot, and I knew that if I got my
first serve in, I could win,” Spears said. “I started
to get my first serve in and had strong returns. I put the pressure
on her. I forced errors out of her.”
Before even playing Chang in the final though, the unseeded
Spears beat second-seeded Cindy Watson of Australia 7-5, 6-2 in the
second round. In the semifinals she defeated Wake Forest sophomore
Adria Engel 2-6, 6-4, 6-2.
Spears gains five points on the WTA Tour for her tournament
win.
Sunday she competed in the finals of the PeachTree tournament in
Georgia. After that she will play in the Acura Tournament.
As a freshman last season, Spears ranked second on the team in
singles victories with 28, playing primarily at No. 4 singles.
. . .
This Saturday and Sunday the qualifying round for the Mercedes
Benz Cup will take place at the Sunset Rec tennis courts. The first
round of the 32-player singles tournament starts on Monday. 37
players are signed up to play in the qualifying round for the four
qualifier spots, though players can sign up through Friday.
At least two former Bruins will be playing in the qualifying
round. Kevin Kim only lettered one season at UCLA (1997), but he
was named an All-American that year and also made the second-team
All-Pac-10.
Mark Knowles (1990-92) will be competing as a representative of
the Bahamas, for which he has competed for in the 1992 Olympics and
in previous Davis Cups.
Notes compiled by Pauline Vu, Daily Bruin Senior Staff.