COLLEGE ROUNDUP : Injury Slows Mall, Who Loses in Three Sets

Anne Mall, last year’s Southern Section singles champion while playing for Dana Hills High, will have to wait for her first collegiate tournament title.

Mall, a UCLA freshman, lost, 6-2, 0-6, 6-2, to third-seeded Eva Olivarez of San Diego State in a third-round match in the Rolex-ITCA Southern California women’s tennis championships Friday at UC Irvine.

“I didn’t play that well,” said Mall, who was playing in her first collegiate tournament. “I made too many errors.”

Mall, ranked 49th on the Volvo Tennis/Collegiate Rankings--a spot above Olivarez, said one reason for her many errors was a leg injury sustained in her second-round victory over Merete Stockman of Pepperdine.

Mall broke Olivarez’s serve in the third game of the third set, taking a 2-1 lead, but lost the final five games of the match.

“I wasn’t really focused in the second set and she really lifted her game,” said Olivarez, a senior from the Philippines. “In the third set, I started playing better again.”

Mall, who graduated from Dana Hills High a year early, plans to spend one year at UCLA before turning professional.

“I’m just trying to get a lot of matches in and improve my game so when I hit the pro circuit, I’ll be ready for it,” said Mall, who reached the finals of the U.S. Open’s junior girls’ division in September.