Freudenberg taking it one step at a time

Wednesday, April 24, 1996

Freshman netter enjoys team aspect of collegiate tennisBy Hye
Kwon

Daily Bruin Staff

Players often talk about stepping up to the next level. Whether
it’s a basketball player planning to enter the NBA draft or a
baseball player making his debut in the big leagues, the phrase has
become a part of the limited collection of clichés athletes
are guilty of using over and over again.

For Brandi Freudenberg of the UCLA women’s tennis team, stepping
up to the next level meant something much more concrete than its
usual cloudy description. For the Bruin freshman, it meant getting
used to a radically different way of approaching the game of
tennis.

Throughout her career, Freudenberg had the impression that
tennis couldn’t be anything but an individual game. The notion of
two athletes doing battle on the court, with no one to rely upon
but themselves ­ that was the image she brought into
collegiate tennis.

But soon after entering UCLA, the young Freudenberg found out
that tennis can exhibit all the ingredients that make a team
sport.

The camaraderie, the mutual edification and a willingness to do
your own part to help the team win are some of the qualities that
Freudenberg has fallen in love with in her first year as a Bruin.
And according to the freshman, this has helped her enormously in
her development as a better player.

"You’re not just playing for yourself here," Freudenberg said.
"Some days you may not want to play but the team’s always there
behind you, pushing you to go farther. Just having a backing like
that is awesome."

Learning to become a good team player herself, Freudenberg has
assumed the not-so-glorious position of playing in the bottom half
of the UCLA lineup. But she has made the most of it.

Accumulating a 14-8 record at the fourth and fifth positions,
Freudenberg has added an invaluable element to the UCLA squad
­ team depth.

"In high school, I used to say, ‘You win some and you lose
some,’" Freudenberg said. "Now, every match counts because you’re
playing not just for yourself but for a team."

Although the relative speed in which Freudenberg has emerged as
a key member of the UCLA squad might be a surprise, success itself
is nothing new for Freudenberg.

In high school, the Orange County native was named the Most
Valuable Player in her league for four straight years. In her
junior and senior seasons, Freudenberg was named the Player of the
Year by the Los Angeles Times.

Such accolades translated into many calls from recruiters, which
included coaches from UC Santa Barbara, Arizona, Fresno State and
San Diego State. Knowing that she could have immediately been the
top gun at some of the other schools, Freudenberg was also aware
that she would be overshadowed by the likes of Keri Phebus and
Stephanie Chi in her first year at UCLA.

"I knew that coming in to this kind of program that I was going
to get better," Freudenberg said. "I didn’t exactly know how well I
would do my first year, but if I went out there and played well, I
knew I would make a splash."

With the Pac-10 Championships and the NCAAs just around the
corner, Freudenberg is getting ready to step up to another level
once again.

This time, the freshman has a better understanding of what type
of adjustments are in order for the three weeks of post-season
intensity since she has been busy doing a lot of homework to
prepare herself.

"I’ve talked to pretty much everyone on the team and they told
me that the nationals are unlike any of the Pac-10 matches that
we’ve played," Freudenberg said. "This year has been a great year
and it can only get better at the Nationals. I think we’re going to
do really well."

… Freudenberg was … aware that she would be overshadowed by
the likes of Keri Phebus and Stephanie Chi in her first year at
UCLA.

PATRICK LAM /Daily Bruin

With a 14-8 record on the season at the fourth and fifth
positions, freshman Brandi Freudenberg has been an important
contributor to the UCLA women’s tennis team. Freudenberg passed up
the opportunity to be No. 1 at other schools to play at UCLA.