NCAA TENNIS : UCLA Women Get Rematch With Florida

Injury free after being hampered during the second half of the season, seventh-ranked UCLA defeated No. 10 Indiana, 5-1, in the second round of the NCAA women’s tennis tournament Thursday at Stanford.

The victory puts the Bruins (16-7) into a quarterfinal match against No. 1 Florida (27-0), a 5-0 winner over USC.

Today’s match will be the second of the season between the Bruins and the Gators. Florida won, 5-4, Feb. 29 in the semifinals of the national indoor team championships. It was one of only two times this season a team has picked up four points against the Gators.

UCLA freshman Anne Mall, who had not played in a dual match since March 28 because of an injury, returned to action against the Hoosiers, defeating Jody Yin, 6-3, 6-3, at No. 3 singles. UCLA also got victories from Mamie Ceniza, Iwalani McCalla, Paige Yaroshuk and LeeAnn Rostovsky.

The Gators, whose last defeat came against UCLA in last year’s semifinals when they were also undefeated and ranked No. 1, didn’t have much trouble with No. 13 USC (8-12). The only Trojan to win a set was Melissa Hernando at No. 3 singles against Kay Louthian, in a match that was tied, 5-5, in the third set when it was stopped because of time constraints.

No. 12 Pepperdine, which brought only six players to the tournament because of injuries, had its fate sealed when its top player, Noelle Porter, suffered a ruptured tendon in her left foot during practice Wednesday. Forced to move all its singles players up one spot and to default at No. 6 singles, the Waves (15-6) lost to No. 6 California (18-7), 5-2.

In other matches, No. 2 Stanford, seeking its seventh consecutive title, eliminated No. 16 Mississippi, 5-1; No. 3 Texas advanced with a 5-3 victory over No. 19 William & Mary; No. 4 Duke beat No. 14 San Diego State 5-1; No. 5 Georgia defeated No. 11 Tennessee, 5-0, and No. 8 Arizona State defeated No. 9 Arizona, 5-2.

USC is the defending champion and seeded first for the NCAA men’s tournament, which begins today at the University of Georgia. The Trojans (19-2), No. 3 UCLA and Pepperdine all have first-round byes.