The third time’s often the charm.
The saying rang true for the Bruins – who finally struck gold in their third match of the weekend after struggling to find their footing on indoor courts.
No. 3 seed UCLA women’s tennis (4-2) competed at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships from Friday through Sunday in Urbana, Illinois, at the Atkins Tennis Center. UCLA fell 4-2 to both No. 6 seed Oklahoma (7-1) and No. 7 seed LSU (7-1) before rebounding 4-1 against No. 8 seed Illinois (2-5).
“It was a good learning experience for everyone, especially for our freshmen, to be able to experience a national team indoors, where it’s just like an NCAA tournament,” said coach Stella Sampras Webster. “All the teams are the best teams in the country.”
The 16-team tournament, which began Friday and concluded Tuesday, was split between Urbana and Evanston, Illinois.
UCLA entered the competition undefeated – most recently beating No. 18 California on Feb. 2. However, all three of the Bruins’ wins came on the outdoor courts of the Los Angeles Tennis Center.
Adjusting to indoor courts, which Sampras Webster said forced a faster pace of play, proved difficult for UCLA. In the first round against the Sooners, a team that primarily practices indoors, the Bruins managed just one singles win – garnered by senior Elise Wagle who bested Salakthip Ounmuang 6-3, 6-3.
“A lot of us on the team are from California, and we didn’t grow up playing a lot of indoor tennis, so it’s definitely very different,” said No.17 junior Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer.
On the doubles side of the competition, sophomore Ahmani Guichard and Lutkemeyer earned the first blip on what was a perfect dual match record, losing to Gloriana Nahum and Ounmuang 6-3. Ranked wins from No. 3 freshman Olivia Center and Kate Fakih and No. 9 seniors Kimmi Hance and Elise Wagle over Julia Garcia Ruiz and Chloe Noel 6-2 and Cara Mester and Alina Shcherbinina 7-6(3), respectively, earned the Bruins the doubles point, but that alone wasn’t enough to advance to the second round.
“There were really great teams (at the tournament,) and they were seasoned to play indoor tennis, and we weren’t,” Sampras Webster said. “I think it showed in our performance against Oklahoma.”
UCLA went on to play in its back draw opener Saturday against LSU, which lost to No. 2 seed Michigan on Friday. Fakih’s and Wagle’s singles wins over Anita Sahdileva 6-1, 1-6, 6-2 and Tilwith Di Girolami 7-6(3), 6-3, respectively, gave the Bruins hope of a comeback against the Tigers’ 3-0 start, but ultimately weren’t enough.
With Center and Fakih falling to Di Girolami and Anita Sahdileva, and Hance and Wagle dropping their set against Cadence Brace and Kayla Cross, the Bruins lost their first doubles point of the season Saturday.
“We can’t take for granted that we have such great doubles teams that we don’t need to work on,” Sampras Webster said. “We really still need to because there’s still some really great teams out there.”
Entering its final consolation match against Illinois on Sunday, maintaining UCLA’s energy was vital, Fakih said. Sampras Webster added that the competition’s overlap with the Super Bowl meant a limited fan presence from either team – making for quieter courts.
The Bruins took the doubles point with wins from the freshman over McKenna Schaefbauer and Kasia Treiber 6-3 and the seniors over Kida Ferrari and Megan Heuser 7-6(7).
After Fakih kicked off singles with a win over Ferrari 6-0, 6-3, Violeta Martinez put Illinois on the scoreboard, topping Wagle 6-4, 6-4. A victory from Lutkemeyer versus Heuser 6-3, 6-1 quieted hopes of a Fighting Illini comeback, but Hance’s 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 win against Schaefbauer put the nail in the coffin.
Consolation play ended Sunday, but the main draw continued through Tuesday night.
No. 1 seeds Georgia and Texas A&M met in the final at Northwestern’s Combe Tennis Center. The Bulldogs took an early lead and closed out the Aggies 4-1, earning their seventh indoor national title – an honor the Bruins have only earned once in 2012.
Despite starting the tournament with two upset losses, the Bruins said they’re taking away positives.
“This was a great opportunity for all of us to play a lot of matches and to know the level we’re at,” Fakih said.
Gaining experience indoors could prove crucial for the Bruins, who will have to travel back to the Midwest and to the Northeast for multiple upcoming dual matches.
“This was a good trip for us to kind of acclimate ourselves to indoor tennis and hopefully help us with the move to the Big Ten, where we’ll be seeing a lot more indoor courts,” Lutkemeyer said.
UCLA has a two-week training block before its next dual match against No. 15 Pepperdine on Feb. 26.
Until then, the Bruins are looking forward to returning to playing in the fresh air.
“I know we’re going to be excited to see the sun and play outdoors,” Sampras Webster said. “I think that is something everyone’s going to be looking forward to.”
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