Elite squads meet in latest crosstown battle
Game is first big test for No. 15 Bruins after easy early victories
MICHAEL LITSCHI Junior Sara Walker aims the ball crosscourt in the Bruins' match against Pepperdine last week.
By Eric Perez
Daily Bruin Contributor
The UCLA women’s tennis squad will venture into enemy territory today at 1:30 p.m. to take on No. 7 USC at Marks Tennis Stadium. It should be a titanic clash of epic proportions, a dual match that puts two elite teams together that just flat out hate each other.
“No I don’t hate them at all,” junior Sara Walker said. “I love their team, it’s so weird, we’re really good friends with all the girls.”
All right so they don’t hate each other, but the rivalry component between these two programs does prevail. In fact for No. 15 UCLA, matches against ‘SC are ones they tend to never forget.
“I can remember every match that I’ve played as a player against USC,” said head coach Stella Sampras, who was a Bruin player from 1987-91.
“Just because of the intensity of it, they bring out their best and we bring out our best – it’s just a dog fight,” Sampras added.
This dog fight will be the Bruins’ first big test of the season. Thus far, UCLA has rolled over its opponents, shutting out Loyola Marymount 7-0, then beating both Pepperdine and UC Irvine 6-1. UCLA has looked outright dominant at the season’s outset.
“It’s easy for talented players to win without having to really work hard. But against better teams, there needs to be a work ethic, discipline, intensity, and energy to beat those better teams,” Sampras said.
USC certainly qualifies as one of those better teams. The Women of Troy have also blown up their early season opponents, beating UC Santa Barbara 6-1 and sweeping UC Irvine 7-0. USC has advanced to the quarter finals in the NCAA Tournament every year for the past three years.
“USC is a very good team and they are ranked higher than us right now,” said sophomore Lauren Fisher, who feels that a strong start will be the key for the Bruins in what is to likely be a very close match.
“We need to focus on the doubles point. We’ll be a lot better off before we go into singles,” Fisher added.
This early season Pac-10 match-up has all the elements of a classic drama. Just don’t expect a soap opera.
“We like their team,” Walker said. “But in the big picture, we don’t like USC, so playing USC we want to kill them,” Walker said.
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