UCLA, Pepperdine Eliminated

Texas beat UCLA, 5-0, in the first round of the NCAA women’s tennis championships at South Bend, Ind., on Thursday to eliminate the Bruins for the second consecutive season. Last year, the Longhorns eliminated the Bruins in the quarterfinals.

“The matchups were different than when we played at Texas earlier this season and things just didn’t go our way today,” UCLA Coach Stella Sampras said.

The Longhorns, No. 5 and 23-5, beat the Bruins, No. 14 and 14-11, in their previous matchup, 5-4.

Still, Sampras was optimistic.

On paper, it appeared that the Bruins had the matchups in their favor--UCLA players were ranked higher in two of the top three matches. But Texas’ Christina Moros, ranked No. 20, beat UCLA’s Annica Cooper (No. 9), 6-1, 6-4 and Michelle Faucher (No. 66) beat UCLA’s Elizabeth Schmidt (No. 60), 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (3).

In the quarterfinals today, Texas will play No. 2 Florida (24-0), which beat No. 12 Pepperdine, 5-2.

Zsofia Csapo and Nadine Rastetter won for Pepperdine, which finished the season 19-6.

Despite the loss, Pepperdine Coach Gaulberto Escudero was upbeat:

“I am sure glad that, playing a [high-seeded team] that we didn’t just lie down. I’m glad they competed because that means they will compete next year. It’s been a good finish to the season.”