Phebus nets Pac-10 indoor title by defeating Davidson of ASU

Phebus nets Pac-10 indoor title by defeating Davidson of ASU

By Chris Isidro

Keri Phebus can sleep easy.

The junior Bruin netter defeated fourth-seed Kori Davidson of
Arizona State 6-1, 6-3 Sunday to claim the Pac-10 Indoor
Championship, her first collegiate title.

"It was a long time coming," head coach Bill Zaima said. "But to
her credit, she reached her fifth straight final and took care of
business."

Phebus’ victory highlighted an otherwise subpar performance for
the seventh-ranked UCLA women’s tennis team, which marched into
Seattle looking to seize all three singles flights.

Expectations were dashed early when UCLA’s second flight
entries, Susie Starrett and Paige Yaroshuk, bowed out in the first
round. Yaroshuk faced a difficult first round draw against
Stanford’s Sandra Silva and fell 6-4, 6-1.

Starrett, after falling 6-2, 6-4 to USC’s Melissa Hernando,
bounced back in the consolation round defeating California’s Miko
Ando 6-1, 6-1 to win the bracket.

Flight three was no respite for the Bruins as Anicia Mendez fell
victim in the first round to California’s Val Poulos 6-1, 4-6, 6-2.
Freshman Kelly Rudolph, competing for Stephanie Chi, acquainted
herself with her Pac-10 rivals by reaching the semifinal. Chi,
although playing doubles, wanted to nurse a sore shoulder.

"It was a mutual decision," Zaima said of Chi, who served
underhanded in the home opener. "We didn’t want to turn a sore
shoulder into a chronic injury."

The expected Phebus-Jane Chi matchup in flight one never
materialized as Davidson upset the No. 5 player 6-4, 6-1 in the
semifinal. Zaima, however, did not get down on Chi, especially
after enduring a grinding Christmas schedule.

"The tournament proved that we’re very studly at the top of our
lineup," he said.

UCLA lived up to expectations in the three doubles flights as
the Bruins reached the finals in each division. Starrett and
Phebus, leading the way in the top flight, lost to two players who
enjoyed previous experience in the European circuits. Arizona’s
Vickie Maes, 23, and Eva Schurhoff, 25, torpedoed the top Bruin
tandem 6-1, 6-1.

"This was the first time we saw them and they were pretty good,"
Zaima said of Arizona’s duo. "But it will give us lots of incentive
the next time we play."

In the flight two finals against Cal’s Ando and Vera Vitels, the
sisters Stephanie and Jane Chi’s worst enemy was themselves,
falling 5-0 in the first set.

"They just didn’t communicate very well with each other early on
and were out of sync," Zaima said.

Perhaps it’s a sister thing, but from that point, the Chis
started reading each other’s minds, winning the next nine games and
cruising to a 7-5, 6-4 victory.

In the third flight, the first-time duo of Yaroshuk and Rudolph
played well, but could not overcome Stanford’s Kim Shasby and Emily
Burt, falling 7-5, 6-3.

While the Bruins performed respectably over the weekend, Zaima
feels that his squad cannot be content with their performance.

"We won two of the six flights," he said. "So certainly there is
room for improvement."