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Freshman tennis player Ashley Joelson has enjoyed early success as she has won each of her three

Part of the reason that the UCLA women’s tennis team has been able to start off strong has been the quick adjustments that its younger, inexperienced players have made. One of those players is freshman Ashley Joelson, who, as a member of the No. 3 doubles team and the No. 5 or 6 singles player, has dominated all of her matches she has played in so far. Joelson has not lost more than three games in a set as a singles player this year and has teamed up against three different doubles opponents to record easy victories in each of the Bruins’ three matches. “I think I’ve been doing pretty well so far,” Joelson said. “They weren’t tough matches, so it was just good going out there, competing and getting used to the dual-match situation.” Getting used to playing college tennis hasn’t been too much of a problem for Joelson. Being able to watch her older brother Brett play at Texas A&M gave Joelson a chance to get familiar with the format and style of NCAA tennis. “I got to watch a lot of college tennis as a junior. Just knowing that you’re playing for a team and just your individual self, that’s kind of a tough concept to get. We’re doing a pretty good job and (senior Laura Gordon) has helped us a lot with that,” Joelson said. One area of adjustment that has been a little more difficult for Joelson to make has been the territorial transition. Joelson, who went to a small high school (New Braunfels) in a small town near Austin, Texas, has had to quickly adjust to the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles and the different atmosphere the UCLA campus has provided. “Getting used to Westwood: the traffic, the people, the business; that’s been really tough,” Joelson said. But despite the adjustments she has had to make off the court, Joelson’s focus on the court has led to positive results so far and has given her a clear vision of what she is wants to and is capable of accomplishing for the rest of the season. “I just want to help my team anyway I can and do well in NCAAs and to help us get a nice ranking,” Joelson said. “I know that this year, I probably won’t personally make (the NCAA Individual Championships), but I’d like to help the individuals that do go to compete.”

A LONG REST: After playing their first three matches in the span of one week, the Bruins will go an entire two weeks without having another match up. UCLA – defeating Loyola Marymount, UC Santa Barbara and Rice all by the same 7-0 score last week – will take on UC Irvine at home Thursday, Feb. 9 at 1:30 p.m. before traveling to Malibu to face Pepperdine two days later at 11:00 a.m. After those matches, the Bruins do not have much more time to prepare for their Pac-10 season, opening up against California and Stanford at home Friday, Feb. 17 and Saturday, Feb. 18.

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