• printer friendly
• mail this article
• iPod format
• digg

In a year that ended in heartbreak, the start to the off-season hasn't been

any better so far for the UCLA women's tennis team.

Sophomore All-American Daniela Bercek, who anchored the Bruins at the top singles position the last two years, will transfer to Duke, Blue Devil coach Jamie Ashworth announced.

The departure comes less than a month after the Bruins' season-ending loss

to USC in the NCAA Round of 16, a match in which Bercek provided the most

decisive win in singles for the Bruins.

Bercek had been contemplating leaving since at least as early as that loss, but refused to officially comment on the issue. Her teammates were surprised that she had even considered transferring.

”She didn't tell us too much, so I don't know what to say,” freshman Riza Zalameda said last week. “It's just between her and the coaches. It's hard to imagine.”

Neither Bercek nor UCLA coach Stella Sampras Webster returned phone calls for this article.

Bercek, who won the NCAA doubles championships as a freshman, posted a

14-5 record in dual singles matches this year. Ranked 10th at the end of the year, she provided numerous clutch wins during her two seasons in Westwood. Last year, she did not drop a match during the Bruins' run to the NCAA finals, scoring the most memorable win in a three-set victory over Miami's Megan Bradley that moved UCLA into the semifinals.

In doubles, Bercek teamed with Zalameda in 2005, finishing the year with a 15-3 record at the top spot and a No. 4 ranking.

“She's a very good partner,” Zalameda said. “She's very compatible. It's going to be hard to make up for.”

Losing a player of Bercek's caliber is not entirely a new phenomenon to

the program. Three years ago, Bradley left UCLA after her

All-American freshman year to be closer to her personal coach in Miami.

Bercek becomes the sixth starter in the last four years to leave the

program early, and though the reasons have all seemed to vary, it's nevertheless a trend that has forced Sampras Webster to bring new players into the mix every year.

Two years ago, Susi Wild, a No. 3 singles player, quit tennis after her freshman year and returned to her native Germany according to the Bruin coach. Last year, the Bruins lost a trio of starters. Sophomores Jackie Carleton and Feriel Esseghir both had their scholarships revoked because of attitude-related problems, while redshirt junior Lauren Fisher opted to graduate with a year of eligibility left.

Bercek will now join Carleton at Duke, a team that lost to North Carolina in the NCAA Regionals this past year. She will likely play the top spot for a Blue Devil team that lost just one senior from its starting lineup this past year.

The Bruins are also losing just one senior from the 2005 season. But once again, the lineup will shift because of an underclassman leaving.