No. 1 Lady Gators swallow up w. tennis

Tuesday, May 21, 1996

Netters put up one last stand for retiring coach

By Hye Kwon

Daily Bruin Staff

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Going into Monday afternoon’s NCAA
semifinal against Florida, the UCLA women’s tennis team was faced
with Mission Impossible.

For starters, the weather in the Florida Panhandle resembled a
microwave oven the last three days. Also, the Bruins were
practically playing in the Lady Gators’ home swamp, so to speak.
That meant that the UCLA squad, especially the young and
inexperienced players at the bottom of the lineup, would have to
also battle the rambunctious Florida fans.

As if that wasn’t enough, the Bruins had played over of 14 hours
of tennis in the first two rounds of the tournament while Florida
cruised with a pair of 5-0 sweeps.

But as the Bruins first took to the court on yet another hot and
humid day with the fans already doing alligator claps in the
stands, they seemed determined to carry out the task of bringing
home UCLA’s first NCAA championship trophy. It didn’t matter that
the Lady Gators were holding all the cards.

The reason for such tenacity was quite simple. The tournament
marks the end of the road for retiring head coach Bill Zaima and
the Bruins were determined to send him off with a much deserved
reward for his 16 years of service.

"There were a lot of emotions on the court because we wanted to
win the championship for Bill," UCLA assistant coach Stella Sampras
said. "We were so focused on the task that we had forgotten that is
was Bill’s last match until we gathered for the post-game team
meeting. That’s when it really hit us."

In his previous 15 years at the helm, Zaima took UCLA to the
NCAA Championships 10 times. In those 10 attempts, the Bruins twice
finished second. With a team that has been overachieving all year
long, this was his last chance to win that elusive title.

"This year’s team didn’t have the type of talent that last
year’s team had," Zaima said. "But this was a better team because
there’s more love for each other than some of our teams in the
recent past. That’s what excites me when I think about this
team."

When the final point of the No. 2 singles match played out,
Zaima’s coaching career came to an end. There’s still the task of
guiding three UCLA players in individual play, but the baton has
been passed on to Sampras.

Despite spending four years as an assistant to Zaima, Sampras
acknowledges that she has a lot more to learn about the role of a
head coach from her mentor.

"He’s a very smart person and he’s been coaching the team 16
years," Sampras said. " I’ll definitely consult with him."

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