Women’s tennis to take on Saint Mary’s in first away game
UCLA competes on the road for the first time this weekend, taking on St. Mary’s just 4 miles away from campus. Coach Stella Sampras Webster is looking forward to competing in a familiar place without the challenges of traveling far from home. (Daily Bruin file photo)
Women's tennis
Saint Mary's
Friday, 2 p.m
Pacific Palisades
By Kyle Cardoza
Jan. 29, 2016 7:17 a.m.
The women’s tennis team will encounter its first test away from home this season when it takes on Saint Mary’s Friday, but at least the Bruins won’t have to trek all the way to Northern California to face the Gaels.
Instead, the No. 21-ranked Bruins (1-1) will be competing much closer to home. The match will be set at the Riviera Country Club, stationed approximately 4 miles west of UCLA.
Coach Stella Sampras Webster said it will be pleasant to play in a more familiar atmosphere this weekend.
“We have played at the club before and it will be nice to see a lot of Bruins there supporting us,” Sampras Webster said. “It will be nice not having to live out of a suitcase and be on the road.”
UCLA has defeated Saint Mary’s in each of the teams’ previous four matchups, dating back to 2010.
But the Bruins will have their hands full with a young, upstart Gaels team that is ranked No. 47 in the country. The Gaels are led by senior Jamie Pawid – the No. 103-ranked singles player in the nation. Saint Mary’s had mixed results in last weekend’s ITA Kick-Off Weekend Indoor Qualifier, losing to the University of Washington 4-1 but dominating Cal State Northridge 4-0.
“We play Saint Mary’s almost every year and they always have a solid team,” Sampras Webster said. “They always make NCAAs so we are expecting and preparing for a tough match.”
UCLA will attempt to rebound from Saturday’s surprising 4-3 loss to Fresno State, which denied the Bruins an opportunity to compete in the USTA/ITA National Team Indoor Championships.
READ MORE: The full wrap from last weekend’s loss.
The Bruins struggled to execute their game plan against the Bulldogs’ up-tempo style of play. The visitors commanded the pace of each match, forcing the Bruins to commit several unforced errors.
Despite their less-than-stellar performance against the Bulldogs, the Bruins enter Friday with no changes to their mindset.
“I’m not going into this weekend thinking, ‘Oh we lost, we can’t lose again,'” said sophomore Maia Magill. “I’m going in with the same mentality as I always do: Play to win and not play to not lose.”
DOUBLES PLAY: UCLA will need to improve in taking the doubles point.
The Bruins focused on making small adjustments in each player’s personal game during this week’s practices, tweaking aspects like slice shots and serves or working to establish a consistent rhythm.
“The emphasis for me was on serving, coming into the ball and finding my groove,” said freshman Alaina Miller. “Last week I didn’t have much of a rhythm because (my opponents) were off-pace hitters. There was a lot of moving, just not much rhythm.”
