The energy was electric as the UCLA women’s tennis team played a match for more than just a chance to move on in the NCAA championships at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex on Saturday.
The team played a match of revenge.
The Bruins’ win against the Duke Blue Devils was long sought-after and hard-fought. It was a back-and-forth battle between the No. 5 seed Bruins and the No. 4 seed Blue Devils, but UCLA finally emerged victorious, 4-2.
“Even other players and coaches knew that this was going to be a really good match,” said coach Stella Sampras Webster. “Both teams had a lot of fans, and there was a lot of interest in watching our match and seeing how the teams did.”
This was a welcomed win for the Bruins after their recent loss to Duke at the ITA National Indoor Championships in early February where they fell 4-3 after several tiebreakers.
“Everyone really wanted to redeem ourselves and take back something that we had lost at Indoors,” said junior Robin Anderson. “We knew we had a clear goal, and we were on a mission to get to the finals.”
After fighting Duke for the No. 1 ranking the majority of the season, UCLA celebrated the decisive postseason victory.
And in this case, the victory came down to the big points.
After scoring a decisive doubles point to continue the 27-point streak, the Bruins battled hard in singles, with two third-set comebacks from freshman Jennifer Brady and sophomore Catherine Harrison.
At the start of her first set, Harrison was determined to beat her Duke opponent, especially while remembering Duke’s celebration on the court after its Indoor Championships victory. However, a 5-7 defeat in her first set caused a vital reevaluation of her gameplay during the changeover.
“I knew I was a better player than she was, and I knew that the only reason I was losing was because I was super nervous,” Harrison said. “I just told myself, ‘Listen, only focus on one point at a time, and only think about the next point.’ Honestly that’s what I did, and I ended up winning really easily after that.”
Harrison made an impressive 6-1 comeback in her second match, and secured the Bruin victory with a 6-3 in her third set.
“We did well in doubles just like we did in Indoors, but this time we just played a bit better in the bigger points, and I think that made a big difference,” Sampras Webster said.
The Bruins now claim the favored position heading into the semifinals, as all potential remaining opponents are seeded lower. The team will take on No. 8 seed Florida on Monday for what will be its fourth straight trip to the NCAA semifinals.