After three easy wins against lesser non-conference opponents,
the UCLA women’s tennis team encountered quite a different
atmosphere this past weekend at the National Indoors in Madison,
Wis. All three of its matches resulted in scores of 4-3, with the
Bruins coming out on the short end of two of them. After falling to
unseeded Miami in the first round, the third-seeded Bruins entered
the consolation draw, where they beat Texas A&M. “We
tried to prove to ourselves that we could rebound,” freshman
Riza Zalameda said. “Even though we lost and weren’t
playing for the championship, we could still keep our heads up and
keep UCLA’s spirit up.” While it was Zalameda who
clinched the win over the Aggies with a 6-2, 6-2 win on Court 1, it
was UCLA’s No. 2 doubles teams that enabled Zalameda to be in
winning position. Laura Gordon and Elizabeth Lumpkin battled back
from a 7-5 deficit to reel off the next four games and give UCLA
the doubles point after the two teams split sets on Courts 1 and 3.
On Saturday, the Bruins did not fare as well in doubles against
second-seeded Clemson, dropping all three sets to open the match.
Though Alex McGoodwin, Gordon and Lumpkin all notched straight set
victories, the Bruins could not pull out the fourth win they
needed. Zalameda, ranked ninth in the country, faced her stiffest
challenge of the tournament against the Tigers’ Julie Coin,
who’s ranked No. 5 in the country. Coin, who had earlier
defeated No. 7 Aibika Kalsarieva of Kentucky in the tournament,
dispatched of UCLA’s freshman 6-3, 6-2.
WOMEN’S GOLF: The Bruins will kick off the season today at
the annual Regional Challenge at the Palos Verdes Golf Course. The
three-day tournament, which UCLA won last year, features top-ranked
Duke and No. 4 Arizona State. “All of our players are
well-prepared and excited about having the chance to start our
spring with such a strong event,” coach Carrie Forsyth said.
“This golf course requires a tremendous amount of patience
because the greens are very tricky and fast. We know the course and
that is to our advantage.” Last year, UCLA’s Charlotte
Mayorkas won the event with a low-score of 207.
Compiled by Bruin sports senior staff.