PALO ALTO “”mdash; In the most difficult of times, the UCLA
women’s tennis team was able to rely on senior Laura Gordon
for inspiration and words of encouragement. But after UCLA’s
heartbreaking 4-3 loss to the Florida Gators on Thursday, teammates
and coaches filled her usual role, as the team’s lone senior
sat in a state of disbelief. “It’s weird to think that
my career is over,” Gordon said. “It’s so hard to
know that I’ll never play for UCLA again when it’s been
the thing I’ve loved to do for the last four years.”
Gordon started her freshman year as a walk-on, filling in at the
No. 6 position, and leaves as a scholarship athlete who led the
Bruins as their No. 1 singles player. “I haven’t seen
many players improve as much as she has during her four
years,” Florida coach Roland Thornqvist said. “I think
Stella (Sampras Webster) has done an unbelievable job with
her.” “Her story is a wonderful one and it just shows
how legendary UCLA is and how good they are at producing
players,” teammate Elizabeth Lumpkin said. As the only senior
for UCLA, Gordon knew the road to success would not be a smooth
one. The native of Colorado is on a team full of inexperience.
Filling the role as the elder stateswoman, she spoke often of
committing herself to becoming the leader UCLA so desperately
needed at the onset of the season. In the middle of the season,
Gordon was called upon to fill in the No. 1 role when sophomore
Riza Zalameda suffered an ankle injury that kept her out of several
dual matches. The senior responded and proved to herself she was
capable of playing in the top position after three years of
anonymity. From that point on, Gordon became the Bruins’
igniter on and off the court. On Thursday, the Bruins came out flat
in singles play. Almost every Bruin was losing when Laura Gordon
dropped her first set to the Gators’ No. 9 Alexis Gordon.
Seeing that her team needed a boost, the captain assumed her role.
“At the beginning I was cruising a little bit, but she just
kept battling,” Alexis Gordon said. “She just fights
every point out. She’s extremely tough and can be very
intimidating.” Laura Gordon fought back in each set before
finally losing 6-4, 3-6, 7-5. “It took everything Alexis had
to get through that match,” Thornqvist said. Though she
eventually lost her final match as a Bruin, it was Gordon’s
resurgence that fueled her team’s short comeback. “I
think Laura Gordon really set the tone for our team,” UCLA
coach Sampras Webster said. “She’s just really fiery
and I think that really helps our team stay positive. It makes it
fun to coach and be involved in a team like this.” While
certainly not excited by a career-ending loss, Gordon was able to
see the big picture in terms of her years as a Bruin.
“Obviously I would’ve liked to have won but just the
fact that I was in there and I was fighting and the crowd was into
it kind of depicts how my whole career has been,” Gordon said
of the match against Florida.
NCAA INDIVIDUALS: Gordon’s career
isn’t over just yet, technically speaking, as she has yet to
compete in the NCAA Individuals, which begin Tuesday. Gordon will
be joined by teammates Zalameda, sophomore Tracy Lin and junior
Alex McGoodwin in the 32-player singles draw. Gordon will team with
Zalameda to participate in the doubles draw as well.
POWER OF THE PAC-10: The Pac-10 conference has
a strong contingent still remaining in the quarterfinals of the
women’s draw as top-seeded Stanford and No. 3-seeded USC
advanced with wins over Virginia Commonwealth and Texas Christian,
respectively.