W. tennis will wait to team up at NCAA

Tuesday, May 7, 1996

Tournament delay will give Chi extra time to recuperate

By Hye Kwon

Daily Bruin Staff

Since early January when the 1996 season schedule was first
published, the UCLA women’s tennis team has been gearing up for May
10, the day when the NCAA Team Championships were to start in
Tallahassee, Fla.

But as the wait quickly approaches its end, the sixth-ranked
Bruins find themselves having to sit around yet another week before
they can make their trip to the campus of Florida State
University.

In the midst of circumstances that can be described as nothing
less than chaotic, the NCAA postponed the date of the tournament
from May 10 to May 18. As of Monday afternoon, the brackets for the
tournament were yet to be determined and even the complete list of
invited teams was sketchy.

One thing is for sure, however. UCLA will be there.

"We received an official invitation to compete in the
tournament," UCLA head coach Bill Zaima said. "We were one of the
ten teams that automatically qualified on the basis of record."

With the invitation aside, the tournament seeding is the next
thing the Bruins must worry about. A fifth to a seventh seed is the
most likely scenario, but considering UCLA (17-5) was bumped in the
latest national rankings by a Wake Forest team that jumped seven
spots, anything is possible.

* * *

With the tournament being postponed one full week, the player
that might benefit the most is Stephanie Chi. The sophomore
aggravated a tendonitis injury in her foot during the match against
California, and hasn’t seen any action since. Chi sat out the dual
match against Stanford, in addition to the Pac-10 Championships two
weeks ago.

The extra week will not only give Chi ample time to rest her
foot, it will offer the All-American time to dust herself through a
full week of practice.

* * *

Last week, the Pac-10 announced the All-Conference Team which
included three Bruins. Keri Phebus and Paige Yaroshuk made the
first-team All Pac-10, while Chi garnered the second team
honors.

Vicky Maes of Arizona was named the Player of the Year after
finishing the regular season with a record of 44-8. Maes, who is
ranked No. 1 in the nation by the Intercollegiate Tennis
Association, swept Phebus in dual match action, en route to a 21-2
overall dual match record.

FRED HE/Daily Bruin

Stephanie Chi, who suffered from a recurrence of tendonitis last
month, will benefit from the one-week postponement.

In the midst of circumstances that can be described as nothing
less than chaos, the NCAA postponed the date …