UCLA
South Alabama
No. 26 South Alabama Upsets No. 7 UCLA, 5-2
June 21, 1999 | Women's Tennis
May 16, 1999
LOS ANGELES - In the Finals of the NCAA Women's Tennis Regional at the Los Angeles Tennis Center on the UCLA campus today, the University of South Alabama defeated UCLA, 5-2. With the win the Jaguars advance to the 1999 NCAA Women's Tennis Championships at the University of Florida May 20-23. South Alabama improves to 16-6 overall, while UCLA finishes the season 18-7. The victory marks the first time in the history of the South Alabama women's tennis program that the Jaguars have advanced through the regional to reach the round of 16. This is the first time in the history of the NCAA Tennis Championships that UCLA will not be a part of the 16-team field.
UCLA started strong claiming straight set victories in the top two slots, however South Alabama took the first set on two courts and rallied to split sets on two more. With four courts locked in three-set matches, the Jaguars seemed to gain momentum with each match completed.
The South Alabama comeback began on court No. 6 where Caroline Toyre defeated UCLA's Rochelle Raiss 6-7(2), 6-2, 6-4. The Jaguars evened the score at two all when Lenka Jakubekova posted a 7-5, 6-7(4), 6-4 win over Elizabeth Schmidt on court No. 4. A turning point in the match came when Vonda Novakova put the Jaguars ahead with a victory on court No. 3, defeating Brandi Freudenberg 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(4). The final singles match gave South Alabama an important lift going into doubles play as Marketa Blazkova defeated Petya Marinova 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 on court No. 5.
The Jaguars needed only one point in doubles to clinch the match, while the Bruins would need a doubles sweep to pull out the team victory. UCLA was leading on two courts in doubles, however South Alabama's No. 2 tandem of Lenka Jakubekova and Marketa Blazkova clinched the match and the bid to the NCAA Championships with an 8-4 win over UCLA's Katia Roubanova and Elizabeth Schmidt.
Both of UCLA's wins today were posted by NCAA Individual qualifiers. On court No. 1, No. 16 ranked Annica Cooper got the Bruins on the scoreboard first, defeating No. 97 Martina Ondrejkova 6-3, 6-1. No. 43 ranked Amanda Basica recorded UCLA's other point in the match, handing Iva Puflerova a 6-4, 6-4 defeat on court No. 2.
Although the UCLA team will not compete at the NCAA Championships, the Bruins will send three representatives to the individual portion of the event. Basica and Cooper will compete in both singles and doubles, while Cristina Popescu has also qualified in singles play.
Here are today's position-by-position results:
Final Team Score: South Alabama 5, UCLA 2
Singles
No. 1 (16) Annica Cooper (UCLA) def. Martina Ondrejova (USA) 6-3, 6-1
No. 2 (43) Amanda Basica (UCLA) def. Iva Puflerova (USA) 6-4, 6-4
No. 3 Vonda Novakova (USA) def. Brandi Freudenberg (UCLA) 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(4)
No. 4 Lenka Jakubekova (USA) def. Elizabeth Schmidt (UCLA) 7-5, 6-7(4), 6-4
No. 5 Marketa Blazkova (USA) def. Petya Marinova (UCLA) 6-3, 4-6, 6-4
No. 6 Caroline Toyre (USA) def. Rochelle Raiss (UCLA) 6-7(2), 6-2, 6-4
Doubles
No. 1 (5) A. Basica / A. Cooper (UCLA) vs. M. Ondrejkova / I. Puflerova Abandoned
No. 2 L. Jakubekova / M. Blazkova (USA) def. Katia Roubanova / E. Schmidt (UCLA) 8-4
No. 3 B. Freudenberg / P. Marinova (UCLA) vs. C. Toyre/Tracey Gobey (USA) Abandoned
