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How sweet it is: Phebus, Yaroshuk in quarterfinals

By Daily Bruin Staff

May 23, 1996 9:00 p.m.

Friday, May 24, 1996

Sweet-16 serves up tough competition for Bruins in NCAA singles
competitionBy Hye Kwon

Daily Bruin Staff

After two days of competition, Paige Yaroshuk and Keri Phebus of
the UCLA women’s team remain alive and kicking, while teammate
Stephanie Chi has been eliminated from the NCAA Individual
Championships at the Scott Speicher Tennis Center in Tallahassee,
Fla.

Yaroshuk and Phebus safely reached the Sweet-16 of the singles
competition after defeating their first and second round opponents
in straight sets. As a doubles team, the two seniors find
themselves in the quarterfinals following a straight set win over
Florida’s Bonnie Bleecker and Divya Merchant, 6-3, 6-0, in the
second round.

Chi, on the other hand, suffered a 6-1, 6-3 loss to Sophie
Woorons of Clemson in the second round on Wednesday, putting an end
to her first appearance at NCAAs. With the loss, the sophomore’s
post-season singles record dropped to 2-3.

Yaroshuk, who was knocked out of last year’s tournament in the
first round, defeated Alison Cohen of Virginia, 6-4, 6-0, on
Tuesday. Wednesday, she continued to stay hot and beat 10th-ranked
Katie Schlukebir of Stanford, 6-0, 6-3. Wednesday’s win against
Schlukebir was the second time this year Yaroshuk has gotten the
upperhand against her.

This morning, Yaroshuk faces a monumental task of playing one of
the very best players in the country in the round of 16. Kylie Hunt
of Kansas, who brings in a No. 2 ranking, will represent the
biggest challenge of the year for Yaroshuk, but a few factors are
setting the stage for what might be biggest upset of the
tournament.

While Yaroshuk has been playing a lot of tennis the last seven
days, leading the Bruins into the semifinals match in the team
competition, Hunt has only played two matches since Kansas failed
on its attempt to qualify for NCAAs.

Furthermore, Hunt showed vulnerability in the first round, where
she was taken to three sets by 42nd-ranked Zofia Csapo of Alabama
Birmingham.

Although Yaroshuk’s name posted on the quarterfinals board might
be a surprise, it came as no surprise that defending NCAA champion
Phebus made it into the round of 16. Seeded No. 2 in the
tournament, Phebus easily disposed Meredith Chiles, whom she beat
in the NCAA team tournament three days prior, 6-2, 6-2 in the first
round.

Then, in the round of 32, Phebus got by Eline Chiew of Brigham
Young, 6-3, 6-1, matching her up against unseeded Jean Okada of UC
Santa Barbara this afternoon.

***

Florida head coach Andy Brandi said in the news conference after
his team defeated UCLA in the semifinals of the NCAA team
championships that "it would take a mighty big team" to beat his
Lady Gators in the finals. And as it turned out, No. 2 Stanford
wasn’t that team, as it became the 31st victim of Florida this
year.

The 5-2 win over the Cardinal completed a perfect 31-0 season
for the Lady Gators, who redeemed themselves after a heartbreaking
loss to Texas in last year’s tournament. Monday marked the second
time in four years that Florida has gone through an entire season
undefeated.

Yaroshuk and Phebus safely reached the Sweet-16 of the singles
competition after defeating their first and second round opponents
in straight sets.FRED HE/Daily Bruin

Paige Yaroshuk faces No. 2 Kylie Hunt of Kansas in the
quarterfinals.

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