UCLA
UC Irvine
Bruins Blank Anteaters, 7-0
February 12, 2004 | Women's Tennis
Feb. 12, 2004
LOS ANGELES - Eighth-ranked UCLA snapped its two match-losing streak Thursday, defeating UC Irvine, 7-0 in a non-conference women's tennis match at the Los Angeles Tennis Center. With the victory, UCLA evens its record at 3-3 overall, while the Anteaters fall to 2-2 with the loss.
Despite experimenting with two new doubles combinations, UCLA came out firing to start the match, winning at all three doubles positions. The Bruins' new No. 1 team of Daniela Bercek and Lauren Fisher posted an 8-5 decision over UCI's Anna Bentzer/Tiffany Chang. At the No. 2 position, Jackie Carleton and Feriel Esseghir cruised to an 8-2 victory over Hui Leow/Christie Posner. The Bruins won at the No. 3 court 8-0.
In singles play, Esseghir dropped just one game in a 6-0, 6-1 decision over Leow at the No. 3 position. She was followed by Bercek, who defeated Chang, 6-2, 6-1 at the No. 2 court. The match was clinched at court No. 5, where UCLA's Shilpa Joshi defeated Posner, 6-4, 6-1.
Although she was pushed to the distance, Bruin sophomore Laura Gordon gave UCLA a 5-0 advantage in the match when she outlasted Kristina Boss, 6-2, 4-6, (11-9) at the No. 4 spot. A 10-point tiebreaker was played in place of a third set.
Nina Yaftali and Carleton capped off the victory for UCLA, winning their matches in straight sets. Yaftali defeated Veronica Fermin, 6-2, 6-4 at court No. 6 and Carleton knocked off Bentzer, 6-3, 7-5 at the No. 1 spot.
The Bruins return to action tomorrow as they host No. 21 Fresno State at the LATC beginning at 1:30 p.m.
