Women’s tennis notches two Pac-12 wins
Junior Courtney Dolehide, UCLA’s No. 6 singles player, has been a consistent point earner for the UCLA women’s tennis team as of late. Her last three wins have contributed toward an impressive track record.
Women's tennis
UCLA 6 COLORADO 1
By Richard Kaumeyer
March 19, 2013 12:00 a.m.
UCLA women’s tennis shrugged off last weekend’ s tough loss to USC to claim two victories over unranked Utah and Colorado, regaining its momentum as the team heads into the meat of Pac-12 play.
The Bruins played their first match of conference play on Friday against the Utes, and it was apparent early on that these were the winning Bruins of two weeks ago. They quickly took the doubles point, then continued their strong play in singles, winning three more matches to clinch the victory before winning 6-1 overall.
The match against Utah also featured the return of UCLA’s highest-ranked doubles pair – sophomores Skylar Morton and Robin Anderson – after more than a month, as Morton took care of some personal matters.
“Skylar was away for a funeral,” said coach Stella Sampras Webster. “She just needed some time to get back into shape.”
On Saturday, the Bruins hosted the Colorado Buffaloes, and while the opponent was different, the result was the same. UCLA won two of the three doubles matches and notched wins on courts 4, 3 and 6 before eventually winning 6-1.
The Bruins’ singles strength was on display throughout both matches this weekend. In the meeting with Colorado, senior Pamela Montez and Anderson faced early resistance in their matches, but before the Buffaloes could begin to think about an upset, the Bruins in the last three singles positions had already won, clinching the match victory for UCLA.
“We have such great depth,” Sampras Webster said. “The players in the back have been doing a great job of dominating back there.”
Junior Courtney Dolehide, the Bruins’ regular No. 6 singles player, won her singles matches against USC, Colorado and Utah and said that she feels that after playing in the season’s early matches, she has a sense of confidence.
“Getting the opportunity to play so many singles matches earlier in the season I think has really helped let me deal with different situations nicely on the court,” Dolehide said.
With two wins, the Bruins have regained some momentum and feel ready for the thick of Pac-12 play after some early miscues.
“We struggled a bit through the season,” Anderson said. “Hopefully things will continue to get better going forward.”
