UCLA women’s tennis recharges before taking on Pepperdine

After four losses to Duke at the ITA National Women’s Team Indoor Championship in Virginia last weekend, three of which ended in tiebreakers, the UCLA women’s tennis team welcomed a week off to regroup, refocus and restrategize before its match on Wednesday against Pepperdine.

And that’s just what they have been up to the past week. Though the team had no practice, it stayed busy studying for midterms, adjusting to the time change and preparing for the match ahead.

“Physically, mentally, it’s good to have time to step away from the court a little bit,” said freshman Jennifer Brady. “I had to study a lot because I had a lot of midterms.”

Even coach Stella Sampras Webster, who had to proctor midterms, said her team’s week off was a beneficial way to prepare for Wednesday.

“They needed a break. Everyone needed a break, even coaches, because there’s a lot that goes into every day, and it can get very draining,” Sampras Webster said. “I never really schedule anything for this week because it’s a long week for everyone, and it’s nice to have a little break and get our bodies and minds refreshed and ready to play our matches this week.”

Now the team, ranked No. 2, up three positions from last week with an impressive 8-1 record, is back on its A-game and has an advantage this upcoming match it lacked the last: the traditional NCAA scoring system.

For the past month, the Bruins adapted a new type of experimental scoring system. The ITA dual match format, put into effect Jan. 1, was originally implemented in an effort to shorten the length of matches and increase audience interest. The new scoring system involved incorporating a tiebreaker in lieu of a third set for doubles matches. Because the Bruins had not played many tiebreakers before the championship last weekend, Sampras Webster cited the new scoring system as a potential disadvantage.

“When we went against Duke, we didn’t handle the situation as well as we probably needed to, and they handled it really well, so we learned from it,” Sampras Webster said. “That was our whole goal from the tournament, to find out a lot about our team, and we found out that we really need to work on putting pressure on our players in situations when it comes to what to do and how to handle it.”

In the upcoming match against the unranked Waves, the traditional NCAA scoring system will act as the Bruins’ ally, eliminating tiebreakers and allowing all doubles sets to be played out to completion.

Though the Bruins have won all of their matches against the Waves the past seven seasons, two of which were shutouts, the team still works to “play aggressively and move forward,” said both Brady and junior Robin Anderson.

“Pepperdine has, the last few years, really struggled, but this year they’ve really reloaded their team, so it’s going to be a good match … because they’ve got a lot of new players that are strong,” Sampras Webster said. “They’re going to challenge us, and we’re excited to play them.”