Monday, April 1, 1996
By Hye Kwon
Daily Bruin Staff
After posting two clutch victories during spring break, the UCLA women's tennis team seems to have put itself in great shape for the final month of the season.
Keeping in mind that they have to take on powerhouses Stanford, California and USC in the final five matches of the regular season, the Bruins knew that a lapse during the break would have been disastrous. But as it turned out, the Bruins managed just fine and improved their record to 14-3 overall and 5-2 in conference.
The most difficult match of the break came against 10th-ranked Pepperdine last Thursday. The Waves marched into Westwood looking to finally record the upset victory they nearly garnered when the two teams met in February.
The prospect of that upset looked inevitable this time when Pepperdine succeeded in posting up two quick victories in the top two spots. Isabela Petrov dominated the No. 1 singles court against Keri Phebus, as she notched a 6-0, 6-2 victory. Petrov recorded 16 winners in the match, while Phebus managed just four. The most amazing statistic was an anemic Phebus registering just four points won on the first serve, while her opponent had 24.
Stephanie Chi, who was filling in for Paige Yaroshuk at the No. 2 spot, didn't fare much better. In less than an hour, Chi went down in a 1-6, 1-6 loss.
"It was really strange because our two top players lost so quickly," UCLA assistant coach Stella Sampras said. "Both of them had very bad days, but luckily the rest of the team pulled through."
At positions three through six, the Bruins garnered a sweep which left just one match needed in the doubles play for the team victory. That fifth point came when Phebus teamed up with Yaroshuk at the top doubles to defeat Petrov and Annabel Rognon.
The critical match was at the No. 4 spot with Brandi Freudenberg and Anna Svendenhov doing battle. After splitting the first two sets, Freudenberg found herself down 2-5 in the third set. Then, the freshman staged a methodical comeback, which culminated in a 7-5 victory in the set.
The road was a lot less bumpier for the Bruins as they took on Washington on Saturday afternoon. With Yaroshuk still missing in action due to the flu, UCLA dismantled the Huskies in a 9-0 victory. Freshman Jody Anglin, who saw action at the No. 6 singles for the second straight day, easily handled her opponent.
FRED HE/Daily Bruin
Brandi Freudenberg defeated Anna Svendenhov 7-5 in UCLA's meeting with Pepperdine.
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