Sampras Webster Headed to SCTA Hall of Fame
July 20, 2017 | Women's Tennis
LOS ANGELES โ UCLA women's tennis head coach Stella Sampras Webster has been selected to the Southern California Tennis Association Hall of Fame Class of 2017, the SCTA announced. Sampras Webster, a four-time All-American as a player and two-time NCAA champion as head coach, will be inducted at the annual Hall of Fame Induction Gala on Sunday, Oct. 1 at the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort & Spa in Huntington Beach, Calif.
Herb Flam, who led UCLA to its first NCAA team championships while also becoming the first Bruin to capture NCAA singles and doubles titles in the same year, will also be welcomed to the club. Rounding out the class are Rod Laver, Jim & Annette Buck, Debbie Graham Shaffer, William "Bill" Kellogg, Robert "Bob" Kramer, Helen Pastall Perez, Bobby Riggs, Ken Stuart and Henry Talbert.
Under head coach Bill Zaima, Sampras Webster was a force on the courts from Day 1 with the Bruins. Her freshman year culminated in the 1988 NCAA Doubles Championship alongside Allyson Cooper. Pac-12 doubles titles followed with partners Mamie Ceniza (1989) and Kimberly Po (1991). Sampras Webster and Po went on to reach the NCAA doubles final in 1991. Sampras Webster wrapped up her career ranked No. 3 nationally in doubles, while also being slotted among the top singles players at No. 42. She was a crucial piece to a UCLA program that notched four straight NCAA top-three finishes.
Following a professional career that featured Grand Slam appearances and international career-high rankings of No. 248 in singles play and No. 142 in doubles, Sampras Webster transitioned to a full-time coaching position. Learning under the tutelage of Zaima before taking over in 1997, Sampras Webster has gone on to become the longest-tenured head coach in UCLA women's tennis history.
During her time at the helm, Sampras Webster has amassed a record of 397-152 (.723) and led the Bruins to two NCAA Championships (2008, 2014) and six final-round appearances. Her teams have also tallied 12 top-five finishes in her 21 seasons. Sampras Webster has coached 26 All-Americans and two NCAA doubles champions (Daniela Bercek-Lauren Fisher in 2004, Tracy Lin-Riza Zalameda in 2008). She has also been named ITA National Coach of the Year (2012) and Pac-12 Coach of the Year (2012) after leading UCLA to its first conference team title.
In addition to captaining the Bruins' first NCAA Championship team while earning the NCAA singles and doubles crowns in 1950, Flam was the first UCLA tennis player to capture two Pac-12 Singles Championships (1947, 1950). He was inducted into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame in 2006.