It came down to one match.
Again.
After leveling the matches against Pepperdine and USC last week, UCLA clinched 4-3 wins each time in down-to-the-wire fashion.
The Bruins came through again in Waco, Texas.
Against the Bears, senior Robin Anderson executed in the tiebreaks to lead No. 12 UCLA (10-2) to a 4-3 upset of No. 4 Baylor (12-3) in another dramatic match.
“This was a big confidence booster,” said coach Stella Sampras Webster. “Our team is right in there against strong teams.”
After a five-hour marathon match against the Trojans Wednesday, the Bruins said they did not get the start they needed in doubles. The Bears cruised through doubles, shutting out the freshmen pair of Kristin Wiley and Terri Fleming 6-0, before upsetting the No. 2-ranked juniors Kyle McPhillips and Catherine Harrison 6-4.
Needing to capture four singles victories to secure the win, UCLA said it had to forget what had happened minutes earlier in doubles and regroup to compete against a team that had already notched five victories over ranked opponents.
After dropping her serve late in her doubles match, Harrison rebounded in singles, crushing her opponent 6-2, 6-1 to even the score at one apiece. McPhillips struggled to combat her opponent’s blistering forehand and fell 6-1, 6-3.
Meanwhile, the hero of the USC match, senior Chanelle Van Nguyen, was unable to match her result from Wednesday’s match, succumbing to her fresher opponent 6-4, 6-2.
On court five, senior Kaitlin Ray pulled away from her opponent 6-4, 6-2 to bring the Bruins within one at 3-2, putting the match on the rackets of Anderson and Wiley.
Wiley and Baylor’s Theresa Van Zyl engaged in a back-and-forth battle with numerous lead changes and long rallies. With Van Zyl serving for the first set at 5-4, Wiley snatched the next three games to squeak out a 7-5 lead.
Wiley carried her momentum into the second set, racing out to a 5-1 lead. Van Zyl battled back to 5-3, but her unforced errors and poor services gave the match to the Bruins and leveled the match at 3-3.
“I tried to stay calm and embrace the moment,” Wiley said. “My teammates were rallying behind me so I went for my shots.”
Both teams turned their focus to court one, where No. 3 Anderson and Baylor’s No. 23 singles player Ema Burgic were squaring off in a gripping and tight match.
Anderson and Burgic traded breaks of serves, angled volleys and extended rallies to bring themselves to a first set tiebreak. Anderson raced out to a 5-2 lead before closing out the first set 7-6 (5) after a favorable net-cord trickled her forehand over the net.
Neither Anderson nor Burgic were able to pull away in the second set, going game for game and shot for shot to bring up another tie break. This time it was Burgic surging to a 5-2 lead, looking to send the match into a third set. Anderson stayed composed and rocketed backhand winners and aces to give herself a match point with a 7-6 lead. With a netted backhand from Burgic, the Bruins finished their second top-five upset in the past four days.
“It’s easy to get excited to play these matches,” Anderson said. “They’re a chance for us to play our best against the best.”