UCLA 6 Oregon 1
By Hannah Gordon
Daily Bruin Contributor
The Ducks should have stayed in their natural, wet climate.
Sunny California proved too much for them as the Bruins burned them
6-1 Wednesday.
The women’s tennis team won the doubles point, then went
on to take five of six singles matches.
“It was nice to end the last dual match on a positive
note,” said sophomore Sara Walker.
The No. 1 team of freshman Lauren Fisher and junior Petya
Marinova humiliated their opponents 8-0. At No. 2, Walker and
freshman Mariko Fritz Krockow won 8-2. The Bruins lost 8-5,
however, at No. 3 with senior Jennifer Donahue and freshman Chelsea
Godbey.
“Doubles got off to a great start. They set a good tone
for the rest of the match,” said junior Catherine Hawley.
“Oregon was not as feisty as I thought they would
be,” Hawley said, “We shut them out so they
couldn’t work up that energy.”
With NCAA seedings on their mind, the Bruins felt the pressure
and responded with the energy Oregon seemed to lack.
“I think everyone realized this was an important
match,” said sophomore Michelle Stiefel.
In singles, No. 1 Sara Walker took her match 6-1, 6-1. Hawley
won 6-1, 6-4 at No. 2. Marinova and Fisher switched positions
because Marinova has an injury in her hip flexor.
“Today I felt good but I’ve been tight from playing
too much. I can’t really move,” said Marinova.
At No. 4 Marinova sailed through her first set, 6-1. However,
she became emotional on the court as she fought for the second set,
7-5.
Although Fisher took her match 6-1, 6-4 at No. 3, she had
trouble with her opponent’s shaky, uneven style of play.
“She played differently than the other players I’ve
played recently,” said Fisher. “Every player has a
different style. Some are complementary to yours, some are not.
Hers was definitely not.”
Oregon earned its only point at the No. 6 position where Donahue
was defeated 7-5, 6-1.
With the win, UCLA ends the season 7-17 overall, 3-5 Pac-10.
Thanks to this match and Friday’s upset of Cal, UCLA will
almost certainly make the NCAA Championship Regionals.
This weekend the team is competing individually in the Pac-10
Tournament in Ojai, California. Walker won the tournament last year
but is not worried about defending her title.
“If I win, that’s great. If not, whatever,”
she said.
Marinova will compete in doubles but not singles due to her hip
flexor injury.