This post was updated Jan. 31 at 11:29 p.m.
When the first four points were awarded Saturday, the Bruins led 3-1.
The final score was not as favorable for UCLA.
After their narrow 4-3 loss to No. 24 Iowa State (4-1) on Saturday, No. 18 UCLA women’s tennis (1-2) also surrendered a 4-1 decision to Florida International University (2-1) in the consolation bracket of ITA Kickoff Weekend on Sunday. The Bruins’ three singles victories across the two contests came courtesy of No. 42 sophomore Ava Catanzarite and No. 94 freshman Fangran Tian.
Catanzarite said she earned her two singles victories by avoiding the scoreboard and focusing on her matches.
“I just knew that I had to do my job,” Catanzarite said. “I tried to focus on just myself and support my teammates whenever I was done.”
Both Catanzarite and Tian notched singles wins against the Cyclones, defeating No. 80 Anna Supapitch Kuearum and No. 57 Thasaporn Naklo, respectively. The two also played doubles together, falling 6-2 to Kuearum and Naklo. However, UCLA would go on to win the doubles point in Saturday’s match.
During Sunday’s match, only one Bruin would prevail. Catanzarite provided UCLA’s only victory against FIU, defeating No. 106 Kamila Umarova.
Regardless of her individual success, Catanzarite said she was able to provide perspective to her younger teammates who had just experienced their first collegiate regular-season losses.
“I actually just had a conversation with both of my freshmen, and I told them, ‘Hey guys, it’s a long season,’” Catanzarite said. “’We are playing as a team, and we win and lose as a team. No matter what, if we win or lose, just know this is a team thing.’”
That guidance, as well as the words of UCLA’s upperclassmen, resonated well with No. 120 freshman Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer.
“The losses as a team are very tough. Definitely different from coming from junior tennis when you’re in it by yourself,” Lutkemeyer said. “The older girls are really good role models, so they’ve been helping a lot.”
Lutkemeyer played three sets Saturday before finally falling to Iowa State’s Miska Kadleckova. She split her sets against FIU’s Oyinlomo Quadre before the match ended.
Lutkemeyer said the team plans to use the results of the weekend as motivation for upcoming matches.
“We’re just going to get back out there during the week, work on things that didn’t go so well and some of the things that can be improved, and get ready for next weekend,” Lutkemeyer said.
Coach Stella Sampras Webster agreed with her player’s mentality.
“We definitely need to remember this and learn from this, but we got to stay motivated. We have another match next weekend,” Sampras Webster said. “We can’t get down and stay down because we lost and had a really tough weekend.”
Wins were even harder to come by for the Bruins on Sunday. No. 46 sophomore Kimmi Hance lost both her singles matches to unranked opponents, snapping her 13-match singles winning streak in the process.
After winning her first set 6-4 against Iowa State’s Ange Oby Kajuru, Hance would go on to drop 10 straight games, ultimately losing the next two sets. She was unable to get back on the right foot in her Sunday matchup against FIU’s Ekaterina Khairutdinova, dropping straight sets en route to a second straight loss.
Sampras Webster said she hasn’t lost faith in her sophomore, who had been moved up to No. 2 singles this season.
“I am very confident in Kimmi. She’s going to be fine. She’s just got to relax and play,” Sampras Webster said. “I really want her to commit to just playing her game and not worrying so much about the outcome, just playing the way we know she can play.”
Junior Vanessa Ong and senior Sasha Vagramov also had difficulty contributing to the scoreboard over the weekend. The pair won their doubles match against Iowa State, but fell 6-3 to FIU. On the singles side, the pair was outscored by a combined 31 games across the weekend.
Despite the weekend’s difficulties, Sampras Webster said she still believes in her team and its ability to bounce back.
“We just didn’t execute well, something that we can definitely improve on,” Sampras Webster said. “But I do love my team. They’re just a really hard-working team, and I know they’re just going to get better throughout the season.”
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