The Arizona women's tennis team could not surmount the tough Los Angeles schools during the first weekend of break.
The Wildcats fell 6-1 to No. 12 UCLA on March 12th and 5-2 to No. 11 USC on March 13th. The No. 29 Wildcats fell to 4-7 on the year as they struggled to find their way in singles play.
"It was disappointing," said assistant coach Petar Danolic. "The girls played hard but we were hoping to get one of those. We know where we need to get better."
The lone bright spot was the doubles team of juniors Maja Mlakar and Diane Hollands, which came away with two wins, 8-3 over Jackie Carleton and Feriel Esseghir of UCLA and 8-4 over Launa Magnani and Carine Vermuelen. Hollands and Mlakar improved to 8-2 on the season and have proven to be one of the best doubles teams in the nation.
"They're playing real well in doubles," said Danolic. "Other girls in the lineup have to step up, though."
Arizona used its win in the UCLA match to propel the team to the doubles point. However, the Wildcats lost all six singles matches, including Hollands' loss to Carleton, 6-4, 6-4. Only two of the matches were even taken to three sets, with Debbie Larocque losing to Daniella Bercek 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 and Kelly Perry falling 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Sarah Gregg.
In the USC match, the Wildcats were able to win two singles matches but not the doubles point. Hollands, playing on court one, defeated Magnani 6-0, ret. and freshman Jessie Rochefort defeated Bernadene Bayani 6-2, 6-1.
"She's a good player," said Danolic of Rochefort. "She's one of the hardest working players on the team, but she needs more match experience. We're looking for her to do better the rest of the season and in the next three years."