W. tennis shows muscle as early Pac-10 contender

W. tennis shows muscle as early Pac-10 contender

By Hye Kwon

Daily Bruin Staff

Led by the power of reigning national champion Keri Phebus, the
members of the seventh-ranked UCLA women’s tennis team flexed their
muscle at the Pac-10 Indoor Tournament last weekend at Seattle,
Wash.

Gathering at the Lloyd Northstrom Tennis Center were players
from nine of the 10 teams in the conference, each vying for
early-season status as a contender for the coveted Pac-10 title. In
the midst of formidable competition which included players from No.
3 Stanford and No. 6 California, the Bruins captured three of six
possible titles and emerged as the clear team winner of the
tournament.

Phebus, who was in action for the first time since she captured
the Rolex West Regional Tournament back in November, was the victor
in the first of three flights of the singles competition. Even
though Phebus was the favorite to win the top-flight, the road to
the finals wasn’t as easy as Phebus has been accustomed to of
late.

After receiving a first-round bye, the All-American senior met
Andrea Reisz of Washington State in the second round on Friday
afternoon. Phebus disposed of Reisz rather quickly in a 6-2, 6-4
match, but she needed a little extra effort to defeat the next two
opponents.

In the quarterfinals, Phebus needed three sets to defeat
Katherine Costain of Washington 6-1, 6-7, 6-4. In the semifinals,
played only two hours later, Phebus was again taken to three sets,
and again she prevailed, beating Ania Bleszynski of Stanford 6-4,
6-7, 6-4.

In the finals on Sunday morning, Phebus went up against
fourth-seeded Vicki Maes of Arizona. Phebus, who was playing in her
sixth match of the tournament, got the victory 6-3, 7-5. The win
extended her singles winning streak to 41 matches.

"Phebus played eight sets (on Saturday) and for her to win the
championship, it was really impressive," UCLA assistant coach
Stella Sampras said. "Then again, I think the ability to get the
big wins is one of her big strengths."

Stephanie Chi also played well for the Bruins. Chi reached the
finals of flight two after dispatching Kari Luna of Washington,
Betsy Miringhoff of Arizona and Francesca La’O of California in
consecutive straight set victories. In the finals, Chi easily
defeated Kori Sosnowy of Washington 6-2, 6-2, garnering the first
singles tournament title of her young career.

"Chi was pretty much expected to win the second flight," Sampras
said. "But she won very decisively, which was very pleasing."

Paige Yaroshuk, who had a disappointing showing in the Milwaukee
Tennis Classic two weekends ago, came away with her best result of
the preseason. After defeating her first two opponents in straight
sets, Yaroshuk advanced to the quarterfinals of the first flight to
face Bleszynski of Stanford. A win against Bleszynski would have
matched Yaroshuk against her teammate Phebus, but she could not
overcome the Cardinal’s attacks and fell in straight sets 7-6,
6-3.

But in the doubles competition, Yaroshuk paired up with Phebus
and was moving like a freight train. Despite the fact that the two
have never played with each other, the senior duo rolled off three
straight victories to capture the flight one doubles title. In the
process, Phebus and Yaroshuk defeated the team of Katie Schlukebir
and Bleszynski from Stanford and the team of Amanda Augustus and
Nicole Elliot from California. They are regarded as the top teams
in the conference as well as two of the very best in the
country.

"Considering Phebus and Yaroshuk never played with each other,
it was remarkable how well they played," Sampras said. "To win the
top teams from Stanford and California, it was really
something."

Brandi Freudenberg, the freshman who is quickly establishing
herself as one of the team’s major contributors, reached the
semifinals of flight three. There, she ran out of gas and was
soundly defeated by Karen Goldstein of Arizona 6-0, 6-2.

Daily Bruin File Photo

Top-seeded Keri Phebus ran her singles match-winning streak to
41 at tournament.

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