Women’s tennis looks to conquer its first home matches of season
Junior Kristin Wiley and the Bruins have their home opener against the UCSB Gauchos and the Saint Mary’s Gaels this weekend. (Daily Bruin file photo)
By Angie Forburger
Feb. 2, 2017 10:08 p.m.
Looking into the stands of Sunset Recreation Center and seeing the specks of blue and gold – that’s what the UCLA women’s tennis team has been waiting for.
Beginning Friday, the No. 20 Bruins (2-1) will play their first matches at home of the 2017 season, taking on the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos (0-3) and then the Saint Mary’s Gaels (0-1) the following day. Coach Stella Sampras Webster is eager for the team to play at UCLA and is looking forward to her players experiencing this as well.
“I am very excited to play at home,” Sampras Webster said. “I think this is what our players need. We need more matches, and we need more experience playing. We have two freshmen who have not gone through the season, so the more they play, the more comfortable they’ll feel, and the more they’ll learn from their experiences.”
[Related: Sophomore transfer Gabby Andrews reflects on transition to UCLA]
Fourth-ranked Ena Shibahara is one of the skilled freshmen in this season’s lineup. Despite some early nerves playing in her first collegiate matches, she said the transition to playing with UCLA has gone smoothly.
“I feel really comfortable,” Shibahara said. “My first couple of matches, I was definitely a little nervous, but I think I’m starting to get the hang of it. Going forward, I’m going to have a lot of fun with it.”
Junior Kristin Wiley came home with a singles win at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Indoors Qualifying Tournament last weekend. She looks forward to her team’s home opener and is confident about its preparation.
“I feel like the team’s playing really well, and we’ve all been competing well,” Wiley said. “Practices have been really awesome, so I’m really excited to play at home.”
UCLA suffered its first loss of the 2017 season at the ITA National Indoors Qualifying Tournament in Atlanta. It was difficult fighting hard and getting so close, specifically in doubles, Sampras Webster said, but she was pleased with the motivation and excitement throughout.
[Related: UCLA falls to Georgia Tech in second match of ITA Kickoff Weekend]
Going against two familiar opponents this weekend, the Bruins believe preparing for the matches is key.
“We’ve seen their team, and we cannot take them lightly,” Sampras Webster said in reference to UCSB. “Our team is going to have to be at their best because they’ve got some talent on that team. I want the same energy that they had this past weekend. That’s what I’m going to expect, and I’m hoping to see that.”
Standouts for UCSB include Palina Dubavets and Stefani Stojic. Dubavets finished with a record of 24-8 in singles last season, and the pair of Dubavets and Stojic earned First Team All-Big West in doubles.
Saint Mary’s also brings Parminder Kaur and junior Kareena Manji, who finshed 8-1 in doubles last season. Manji also finished 10-4 overall in singles.
UCLA believes that the Georgia Tech loss provided a lot to learn going forward, making successes and areas of improvement clear.
“I think, for me, I’m going to work on problem solving on the court and being able to adapt to certain situations,” Shibahara said. “We learned a lot from that loss and we can take away a lot of positive points.”
As the Bruins prepare for this weekend’s matchups, they continue to have the same mindset and take on each game as it comes throughout the season.
“I don’t think we should really focus everything on the outcome,” Wiley said. “We should just focus on the process. It’s still very early in the season, and we should just play one match at a time.”
