W. tennis takes on Stanford, Cal

W. tennis takes on Stanford, Cal

By Chris Isidro

The fourth-ranked UCLA women’s tennis team takes on No. 8
California and No. 5 Stanford this weekend at the Los Angeles
Tennis Center.

UCLA head coach Bill Zaima hopes to have Susie Starrett and
Stephanie Chi back to action in limited roles. Both have been out
since the UCLA’s 5-3 loss against the Cardinal two weeks ago.

"We would like to see Chi play some singles for us and have
Starrett in doubles," Zaima said. "I don’t think they are up to
playing four matches in two days at this point."

They will need all the help they can get to muster two wins this
weekend and erase memories of a four match losing streak.

"It’s not too late to get ourselves ready for the nationals,"
Zaima said. "We need two strong performances to get the confidence
back."

But California and Stanford both come to Westwood sizzling.
California, which visits the LATC on Friday at 1:30 p.m., toppled
UCLA, No. 4 Arizona and No. 7 Arizona State in the last two weeks
and nearly upset the Cardinal at home, losing 5-4 in Berkeley on
Wednesday.

The Bears match up very well with the Bruins in doubles with two
tandems in the top 20, meaning UCLA can’t afford to lose four
singles matches to Cal.

"We shouldn’t lose four singles matches to anybody," Zaima said
after his squad faced that deficit against the Bears at
Berkeley.

The Cardinal, who clinched the Pac-10 Southern Division on
Wednesday, have won seven in a row since falling to second-ranked
Texas, 6-3.

The bottom of the lineup has sparkled for the Cardinal, who play
the Bruins Staurday at 1 p.m. with No. 4, No. 5 and No. 6 singles
going 49-7 combined this season.