Weekend in Preview: April 5

Beach volleyball
Jacqueline Dzwonczyk, Daily Bruin staff

The Bruins will compete in their last regular-season tournament this weekend.

No. 1 UCLA beach volleyball (23-0, 1-0 Pac-12) will compete this weekend against Washington (6-6, 1-2), No. 12 California (14-3, 3-1), No. 2 USC (16-4) and No. 19 Stanford (8-10, 2-1) in the Pac-12 North tournament at Stanford.

The Bruins have faced the Huskies, the Golden Bears and the Cardinal once each this season, earning 5-0 sweeps over all three teams. UCLA didn’t drop a set against Washington, dropped two sets to then-No. 11 California and dropped one set to then-No.11 Stanford.

The Bruins have defeated the Trojans twice, winning 3-2 in February and 4-1 earlier this week.

“I think we would expect USC to play better than they did (Wednesday),” said coach Stein Metzger. “It’s always tough to beat a great team twice, so we’ll certainly be preparing for them to be coming after us, as well as everyone else in the Pac-12.”

UCLA went undefeated at the Pac-12 South tournament in March with three sweeps.

After this weekend’s tournament, the Bruins will have two duals left before the postseason.

Women’s golf
Justin Auh, Daily Bruin reporter

The Bruins’ regular season is about to come to a close.

No. 9 UCLA women’s golf will compete in the Silverado Showdown in Napa, California, from Sunday through Tuesday.

In last year’s Silverado Showdown, then-freshmen Patty Tavatanakit won a share of the individual title, finishing at 8-under to earn her second career collegiate victory. She birdied her last two holes to overcome a late three-stroke deficit.

Tavatanakit will not defend her crown, as she received an exemption to play in the ANA Inspiration, one of five major LPGA tournaments, which started Thursday and continues through Sunday.

“I’ll probably be focusing on my putting and short game for that tournament,” Tavatanakit said. “(It) is definitely going to be longer since it’s a major, (so) I’m going to keep working on my swing and maintain the momentum I have right now.”

Senior Beth Wu is coming off her first career victory at last week’s PING/ASU Invitational. Wu attributed her recent success to consistent work on her swing and mental game.

“I worked with our sports psychologist, and (associate coach) Alicia (Um Holmes) helped me with my swing,” Wu said. “I (also) found out that I was standing too long over the ball when I was putting, so I basically fixed the feel of my stroke and pulled the trigger faster.”

Wu finished tied for 45th at last year’s Silverado Showdown. Junior Mariel Galdiano also competed, tying for 49th.

The Bruins will tee off Sunday at the Silverado Country Club.

Women’s tennis
Dylan D’Souza, Daily Bruin staff

After two losses in their last three matches, the Bruins will take on two opponents they have never lost to in program history.

No. 8 UCLA women’s tennis (12-5, 4-1 Pac-12) will take on No. 39 Utah (11-5, 2-3) and Colorado (10-8, 3-2) on Friday and Saturday, respectively, to conclude its six-game home stand.

The Bruins are 17-0 all-time against the Utes and 8-0 all-time against the Buffaloes.

“We just want to continue to prepare like we would any other match,” said coach Stella Sampras Webster. “It is a big weekend for us. It’s Senior Day so hopefully we can finish strong.”

In their most recent matchup against Utah, the Bruins bested the Utes 4-3 at the George S. Eccles Tennis Center on April 6 last year. The Bruins blanked the Buffs 7-0 in the Rocky Mountain Tennis Center a couple of days later.

UCLA is tied for third in the Pac-12 with No. 11 USC (14-3, 4-1), behind No. 5 Stanford (14-1, 5-0) and No. 15 Washington (15-1, 5-0), both of which are undefeated in conference play. Utah is tied for seventh in the conference, while Colorado is tied for fifth.

The matchup with Colorado will be the UCLA’s seventh match in 14 days.

“I think it is good for us,” Sampras Webster said. “We need matches like this. We need matches that will challenge us. I know we’ll learn from these matches and get better in the future.”