Team hopes to rebound from loss with wins over weekend

By Brian Kiley
Daily Bruin Contributor

Make no mistake about it, the UCLA women’s tennis squad
has something to prove this weekend at the Los Angeles Tennis
Center.

In their matches against Washington State at 1:30 p.m. on Friday
and No. 20 Washington at noon on Saturday, No. 8 UCLA (13-3) will
be looking to rebound from a 6-1 loss to No. 3 Stanford last
Saturday, and prove that they are still one of the elite teams in
college tennis.

“(The Washington teams) are good teams, but they are
beatable,” senior Petya Marinova said. “We’ve
been playing very well all season and we just need to come out with
wins.”

Both Washington (13-7) and WSU (9-8) are coming off consecutive
losses to Arizona and Arizona State last weekend, and neither team
will contend for the Pac-10 title. Despite this, UCLA head coach
Stella Sampras knows that this weekend’s matches cannot be
taken lightly.

“We’re expected to win, but I also expect our
players to keep the same energy and intensity that they’ve
had all season,” Sampras said. “These teams are very
good. Washington State beat Cal a couple of weeks ago, and that
shows that they are very strong.”

Now that the grueling season is winding down, the seniors know
that their leadership is especially needed, even on a very
experienced team that only features two freshmen.

“It’s a long season,” senior Catherine Hawley
said. “We just have to pace ourselves and take it one match
at a time.”

The Bruins will get a boost this weekend with the return of
freshman Sarah Gregg to the line-up. Gregg, who normally plays No.
4 singles and No. 3 doubles, missed last weekend’s matches
with an ingrown toenail. She is expected to be ready to play in
Friday’s match.