Women’s tennis focuses on overcoming doubles dilemma in time for NCAAs
Seniors Kyle McPhillips (pictured) and Catherine Harrison were the lone pair that played together before the season. The UCLA women’s tennis team has faced struggles with its doubles play in 2016. (Ken Shin/Daily Bruin)
By Kyle Cardoza
May 3, 2016 1:30 a.m.
The NCAA Tournament is two weeks away and, for the first time since 2009, UCLA women’s tennis sits outside of the top 10 in the national rankings entering the postseason. Even though the Bruins managed to cap the regular season with a solid 14-6 record, several problems have subsisted since the beginning of the new year.
Many of the obstacles the team has faced connect back to one main issue: doubles play.
“We have such a new group this year and we were just not very deep,” said coach Stella Sampras Webster. “We had to put players in that didn’t have the experience that we’re used to and it definitely showed in our results.”
UCLA was dominant in the category between 2011 and 2015, winning the doubles point at least 73 percent of the time each season. The Bruins have struggled this year compared to the past, claiming the doubles point in just 11 of 19 bouts – a 57 percent success rate.
The problems have emerged primarily on courts two and three, where the club owns two sub-.500 records. Pairs on court two are 7-10 this year and pairs on court three are 6-7. No UCLA women’s tennis team has had a losing record on any court since 2013, when the No. 1 pairs combined to go 9-13.
The loss of four starters from last season created the need to fill two courts with pairs which had never played together prior to 2016 – seniors Kyle McPhillips and Catherine Harrison were the lone pair that played together before the season.
“It was a lot of teaching and getting them experience and giving them more tools to be better doubles players,” Sampras Webster said. “Some of our players are more singles players, so they’ve had to learn to be more comfortable. We are hoping by now they feel more comfortable and more fearless and just go on their instinct.”
The lingering injuries caused the Bruins to experiment more than usual. Six different pairs were used in April alone before a consistent doubles lineup was set. But so far, the strategy has paid off.
The second court doubles pair, consisting of freshman Alaina Miller and sophomore Terri Fleming, claimed the Pac-12 Doubles Invitational title two weeks ago in the conference tournament. McPhillips and Harrison have remained consistent on court one and currently rank No. 9 in the nation. The sophomore duo of Maia Magill and Kristin Wiley each have experience in doubles from the past on court three as well.
UCLA’s chances in doubles looks more promising now than they did in the first four months of the season, Sampras Webster said.
“We are definitely at our best right now, and to have Terri and Alaina win the invitational, it gives them more confidence. You could see them feeding off each other,” Sampras Webster said. “Our No. 1 team has experience playing with each other and have been very successful, and even our third team has a chance to beat anyone in the country at three.”
History has been in favor of the Bruins in postseason doubles play, as the club has won the doubles point in 22 of 28 NCAA matches since 2011.
“It comes down to making our serves, being able to hit aggressive returns and executing volleys, so we’ll see,” Sampras Webster said.
