Battle of Arizonas ends with split for w. tennis

Battle of Arizonas ends with split for w. tennis

Netters lose to Wildcats, win against Sun Devils

By Hye Kwon

Daily Bruin Staff

Facing two of the most formidable opponents that will visit
Westwood this season, the sixth-ranked UCLA women’s tennis team
earned a respectable split against the Arizona schools last
weekend.

On Friday, the Wildcats of Arizona succeeded in beating the
Bruins for the second time this year when key UCLA players ended up
losing in singles. Led by its star, Vicki Maes who defeated Keri
Phebus for the second time this season at the No. 1 spot, Arizona
jumped on the Bruins early.

With Stephanie Chi suffering her first dual-match loss of the
season, and Kelly Rudolph and Brandi Freudenberg also losing, the
Wildcats had a commanding 4-2 lead over UCLA going into doubles.
Fourth-ranked Arizona needed to win just one out of three doubles,
but getting that win turned out to be easier said than done against
the feisty Bruins.

UCLA (11-3 overall, 3-2 in Pac-10) came back with a vengeance as
the first two doubles matches went its way. With score knotted at
4-4, the fate of the Bruin comeback rested on the shoulders of
Rudolph and Anicia Mendez at the No. 3 spot. After falling behind
2-5 in the third set, the duo rallied back to 5-5. That would be
all they could muster as the Wildcat tandem took the final two
games to thwart the Bruin comeback.

"The loss was a disappointment, but I wasn’t disappointed at our
performance," UCLA assistant coach Stella Sampras said. "It really
showed the character of this team. Up or down, we’re going to keep
fighting and keep playing until the end."

On Saturday afternoon, the Bruins had a chance for redemption
when they faced Arizona State. The Sun Devils, who marched into
Westwood with the No. 16 ranking in the nation, were smelling
upset. And it seemed destined to become a reality, as the Bruins
nearly repeated their lackluster performance in singles from the
day before.

Phebus started off slow and lost to Reka Cseresnyes 2-6 in the
first set. The defending NCAA champion committed four double faults
and scattered just six winners in the first stanza, while
Cseresnyes countered with one double fault and 10 winners.
Cseresnyes controlled the baseline in the first sets, getting clean
winners off of her heavy forehands.

In the No. 3 singles, Chi also had her hands full. The serve and
volley style of Katy Propstra gave the sophomore trouble as she
dropped the first set 4-6. But slowly, the two Bruin stalwarts
snapped out of their woes and won their matches in three sets.
Phebus won the next two sets 7-6, 6-2 and Chi won 6-4, 7-6.

"I wasn’t too worried about those two matches," Sampras said. "I
have a lot of confidence in (Phebus and Chi)."

UCLA took four of six singles matches on their way to a 6-3
victory on Saturday.

"I was very proud of our players," Sampras said. "Everyone
really gave their very best effort this weekend."

FRED HE/Daily Bruin

Defending NCAA champion Keri Phebus struggled this weekend
against Arizona.

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