While the Los Angeles Tennis Center crowd gathered around the
backcourts, fixated upon the closing moments of Sarah Gregg and
Anya Loncaric’s second sets, Susi Wild quietly came back to
defeat Charlotte Vernaz 4-6, 6-1, 6-3.
In the end, Wild’s inconspicuous win clinched a 4-1
victory for UCLA in its NCAA regional final match against
Pepperdine on Saturday.
Loncaric took the first set from Veronica Koksova 6-3 and had a
chance to seal the win, but fell in her second set tiebreaker 7-3.
All eyes then turned to Gregg, who was leading Monika Horvath 6-5
in the second set and had the crowd ready to explode during a game
in which she had six match points.
Yet on the 11th deuce point, word came that Wild had provided
the clinching win, giving the Bruins a 4-1 victory.
“We could see the scoreboard from Susi’s
court,” head coach Stella Sampras Webster said. “She
could have let up seeing how the backcourts were. I’m really
proud of her to be able to finish it off.”
The unexpected ending culminated a match in which UCLA seemed
destined to win once the singles matches got underway. Sara Walker
and Feriel Esseghir posted quick 6-1, 6-2 victories at the one and
three positions to help the Bruins jump out to a 3-0 lead.
Walker redeemed herself against Natalie Braverman after falling
to her the last time the two met in a dual match Feb. 14.
“Last time I didn’t have time to practice much
before and played awful,” Walker said. “I played much
better this time. The more I play her the better it is because I
can get used to her game.”
After Walker and Esseghir picked up their victories, Loncaric,
Gregg and Wild all battled to pick up the final fourth point.
“I was just focusing on my match and didn’t want to
look at the scoreboard,” Wild said. “I made so many
mistakes in the first set but then I played my game.”
This marked the third time the Bruins have defeated Pepperdine
this season. Although they crushed the Waves at home 6-1 in their
first meeting, the Bruins barely escaped with a narrow 4-3 win in
February. At the outset of this third and final meeting, this
appeared as though it might be just as close as their recent
meeting.
“Pepperdine pushed us,” Sampras Webster said.
“They’re definitely not just 40 in the country,
that’s for sure.”
The Bruins started slowly in doubles, as Jackie Carleton and
Esseghir fell behind to Horvath and Vernaz 4-1 at the top spot, and
Gregg and Wild lost to Braverman and Karin Schlapbach 8-5. Walker
and Laura Gordon held off Koksova and Merve Asimgil to even the
score, putting the pressure on the freshmen duo to come back and
give the Bruins the crucial doubles point.
Ignited by a boisterous crowd and aided by Vernaz’s fit of
temper, Carleton and Esseghir charged back to win 8-6.
“Jackie and I love to play in the heat of the moment when
we’re really playing for something,” Esseghir said.
“The doubles point is so huge because it relieves pressure on
the singles.”
With the Carleton and Esseghir down 4-5, Vernaz went on a tirade
after missing a volley, alleging a fan had begun cheering earlier
during the point. Pepperdine head coach Gilberto Escudero rushed to
the official, demanding to no avail that the point be replayed.
This incited a previously quiet crowd as raucous cheers followed
every point the Bruins won. Vernaz began to unravel, hitting
numerous unforced errors, including a backhand that sailed long on
match point.
“We took advantage when they became shaky mentally and put
the pressure on them,” Esseghir said. “The crowd was
awesome and helped us a lot.”
By beating IUPUI handily 4-0 on Friday in their first round and
then the Waves, the Bruins have earned a trip to Gainesville,
Florida this week, where they will meet sixth seeded Washington
Thursday in the round of 16.
“It’s great having these two wins and traveling as a
team to nationals,” Walker said. “This is
it.”