Tick, tock. Tick, tock.
Running behind from severe thunderstorms that slightly delayed the opening round of NCAA championship play in Athens, Ga., the UCLA (24-2) women’s tennis team started its Sweet 16 match nearly two hours after its originally scheduled 7 p.m. local starting time.
It was going to be a late night for the Bruins – but despite this, they still defeated the University of Miami Hurricanes 4-0.
Forced to play under the lights of the McWhorter Courts at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex from the onset of the match, the Bruins were presented with hot and humid playing conditions in an unfamiliar environment. Not to mention, their opponent, Miami (21-6), resides merely a state over, ever stacking the increasing odds against UCLA.
And at the onset of the match, those nerves were blatantly visible.
The opening battle for the doubles point saw the normally dominant pairing of freshman Jennifer Brady and junior Robin Anderson drop just their third doubles match of the season, leaving the Bruins in a small hole early on.
Unable to establish its usual dominant leads in doubles play, UCLA went back and forth with the Miami pairings, until the Bruins finally caught a wind of success.
The team quickly put the mini-scare to bed by closing out the remainder of the doubles matches, keeping UCLA’s undefeated team doubles record alive and well for at least another night.
Singles play was quite the different story from the Bruins.
Quick, decisive and dominant, the Bruins were a far cry from their sluggish start to the doubles portion of the match and utilized this rebounding moment to remind everyone of their No. 3 ranking in the nation.
The Bruins struck quickly with sophomore Catherine Harrison, Brady and junior Chanelle Van Nguyen each delivering the decisive 1-2-3 blows against Miami with straight set victories.
Just as fast as the Bruins had seemed to be stumbling, the faster they appeared to shut out the Hurricanes and head straight for the air-conditioned locker rooms.
As the reward for their victory Thursday night, the Bruins enter the Elite Eight round of the tournament set to face off against the Duke Blue Devils (27-4), who left a bad taste in UCLA’s mouth last time the two played earlier this season.
After jumping out to a quick 3-0 lead against Duke in early February, UCLA surrendered its final four singles matches, sealing its first loss of the season.
The Bruins hope to prevent history from repeating itself Saturday, when first serve is slated for 4 p.m. Eastern time.
Compiled by Erik Kaye, Bruin Sports contributor.