For the UCLA women’s tennis team, Monday evening brought both good and bad news. The team, after defeating three straight opponents reached its third consecutive finals appearance in the annual ITA National Women’s Team Indoor championship.
But for the second straight year, the Bruins lost their final matchup in the tournament, leaving them with a second-place finish and long flight home from Charlottesville, Va.
After four days of facing the country’s best tennis programs, UCLA fell just short of winning the ITA National Women’s Team Indoor championship, dropping its match in the tournament final 4-3 to the Duke Blue Devils.
Despite jumping out to a quick 3-0 lead against No. 10 Duke (8-0), UCLA couldn’t hold onto any of its four remaining matches to secure the final, tournament clinching point. Storming from behind, the Blue Devils bested the Bruins in the four remaining matches, three of which ended up in a tiebreaker.
The final-round loss put an end to a strong UCLA showing in the tournament, in which the team defeated three opponents in the top 20, including a 4-0 sweep in the second round of crosstown rival and No. 5 USC (4-2).
The UCLA doubles teams showcased dominant performances all weekend, with the nation’s No. 1 combination of junior Robin Anderson and freshman Jennifer Brady along with UCLA teammates, sophomores Catherine Harrison and Kyle McPhillips, winning each of their four matchups and securing the doubles point for UCLA in four straight rounds.
Singles play remained just as strong for UCLA up until the final round, when the Bruins needed it most. As a whole, the Bruins’ singles play in its first three matches was nearly perfect, with only two matches translating to UCLA defeats.
The trend nearly continued when Harrison and junior Kaitlin Ray quickly ousted their Duke counterparts in straight sets, only to witness their four remaining teammates drop matches to Duke opponents.
Anderson, the No. 1 singles player, dominated her first three rounds of competition, finishing each opponent in straight sets. It wasn’t until her final round matchup against No. 3 Beatrice Capra of Duke that saw Anderson drop a match in a third-set super tiebreaker.
Two years ago, UCLA claimed the National Indoors title over the Blue Devils, but in this year’s rematch of the 2012 final, Duke handed UCLA (8-1) its first loss of the season after the Bruins started the season on an eight game winning streak.
Looking to bounce back from their disappointing loss, the Bruins will face off against the Pepperdine Waves (2-1) Feb. 19 at home, and look to reassert their dominance on the court.
Compiled by Erik Kaye, Bruin Sports contributor.