It has been almost four years. Four years since she first
stepped on the courts at the Los Angeles Tennis Center. Four years
spent in the shadows, doing more than what was asked of her. Four
years of sharpening her skills in hopes of one day actually living
this moment. And now that it’s here, don’t expect UCLA
women’s tennis player Laura Gordon to let this opportunity
slip. The senior from Aspen, Colo., has made the most of everything
that has been thrown her way in her time as a Bruin. Gordon is now
reaping the benefits in a way she, nor anyone else, ever thought
possible ”“ as the Bruins’ No. 2 singles player.
“I would look at her junior ranking and would’ve
probably said no,” UCLA assistant coach Rance Brown said of
whether he thought Gordon would be in the position she is in today
when she first landed in Westwood. “But do I feel that she
came from an environment that she could? Yes.” Gordon’s
training involved participating in a highly competitive tennis
academy and training under personal coach Clare Shane. Shane
trained her prodigy to compete at the highest of levels. In
Gordon’s sophomore year this meant capturing the state title
in Colorado and making a championship run one year later before
losing in the final. And for Gordon, it seems as though the
environment she grew up in was just what she needed to leave an
imprint in the Bruins’ program.
The journey Deciding to turn down a scholarship
to attend Harvard, one of the most renowned colleges in the world,
Gordon instead decided to become one of seven incoming freshmen
merely as a recruited walk-on. “I really didn’t know
Laura very well when she first came to UCLA,” coach Stella
Sampras Webster said. “She contacted us and was interested in
coming in as a walk-on and earning a scholarship.” Her
interest in UCLA budded from a visit during her senior year of high
school. Gordon hadn’t informed the coaching staff that she
was coming to visit, but the assistant coach at the time, Jon
Reeves, saw her name on a sign-in sheet and was interested in
having Gordon attend UCLA. “She loved the girls on the team,
the campus, everything,” Gordon’s mother, Andi, said.
As a freshman adjusting to the level of college tennis, Gordon was
more quiet and non-vocal. After a year of watching from the
sidelines, Gordon got her chance to contribute as a member of the
lineup, playing at the No. 6 singles position and, more often than
not, getting the team a victory. “When she came to UCLA, she
just wanted to play,” Sampras Webster said. “She
didn’t care where she was going to play; she just wanted to
play in that lineup.” Having more confidence than in the
years prior to last season, Gordon demonstrated her enjoyment by
means other than her racket alone. She began to contribute in a
much bigger way ““ as the team’s leader. Having
successfully demonstrated her capabilities to lead a team both
emotionally and through her athletic abilities, Gordon was named
this year’s team captain as a senior. But the title is not
something she chooses to focus on, maintaining her fiery
competitive spirit from years past. “The girls just look at
me as a role model. And just, you know, captain or whatever,”
Gordon said while downplaying her input to the overall success of
the team. The climb to her current rank as No. 2 on the
Bruins’ lineup was by no means an easy one. She worked harder
than in the past as she grew and realized her potential and that
she could master a new role for herself. “I think it was last
year that I realized I could do something and play better than I
am,” Gordon said. “I started working a little harder
and it just sort of happened I guess.”
Last woman standing Entering UCLA as one of
seven freshmen in her class, Gordon’s task of vying for a
spot on the ladder became harder than ever, forcing her to mature
and learn to deal with adversity at a rapid rate. “There were
a lot of us and I knew I definitely wasn’t the top freshman
coming in,” Gordon said. But slowly, she started to see
teammates from her class leave UCLA one by one for a variety of
reasons: some to play at the professional level, some giving up
tennis altogether, and some leaving for other universities to get
more match play. Leaving the Bruin community was something that
never crossed Gordon’s mind as she remains the lone senior
from such a large class. “I didn’t think about leaving,
but I’m glad that I got through it,” Gordon said.
“When I talk to all the girls that left, it’s kind of
cool knowing I got through it and that I’m playing so
well.” Although the news of her six classmates leaving for
their own personal reasons was shocking, the departures slowly
created a way for Gordon to attain more recognition and,
eventually, take a firm hold on a much higher position than ever
expected. “I think she’s always helped out the team,
but she’s never really been noticed for it, because there
were a lot of girls in her year,” junior teammate Amber Ray
said. “But now that those girls are gone, she’s really
stepped up and just become more of an active leader.” Gordon
and her teammates, many of whom are her best friends off the court
as well, are not the only ones who are pleased with her decision
and the magnitude of her improvement. Sampras Webster has also come
to appreciate and value the role that Gordon has taken on an
otherwise young team. “Of all those that did come (in
Gordon’s class), I’m glad that she’s the one that
stuck it out,” Sampras Webster said. “I think
she’s really an over-achiever.”
Unfaltering attitude Having encountered just
about as much adversity as long-time coach Sampras Webster has seen
any of her players face in their time at UCLA, Gordon has adjusted
exceptionally well ““ going from barely making the lineup her
freshman year to contributing in a variety of ways this season.
“She’s really handled so many things so well and
I’m just really happy for her, because she really deserves
all this success she’s having right now,” Sampras
Webster said. Though Gordon has been adapting to new roles for much
of her time on the team, she has continued to maintain perhaps her
most valuable assets to both the team and her individual game
““ her mentality and attitude. “She came from a
competitive environment and felt that she wanted to stay in that
challenging environment and she transitioned here to UCLA just
fine,” said Brown of Gordon’s spirited mindset. When on
the court in the midst of a match, Gordon’s eagerness to win
can be seen by her teammates, as several of them feed off her
energy in hopes of recording their own victories. But while in
practice and supporting her teammates after her match is done,
Gordon becomes someone completely different, spreading a contagious
smile and laugh to everyone who can hear her. “I like to have
fun,” Gordon said. “I like to go out there and joke
around.” “She’s always been someone who can just
make you smile when talking to her,” Andi Gordon said.
“I don’t really know exactly where she got it from, but
she does it.” A lot of what this season’s captain has
done in the past four years to reach this point can be attributed
to a number of factors, all of which eventually lead back to her
fiery nature and the influence those close to her have had.
“It’s the mentality she had, the environment she had,
and the support system from coaches and parents,” Brown said.
Now, four years after her decision to forego guaranteed
opportunities elsewhere, Laura Gordon has created an opportunity of
her own at UCLA. “We’re just glad to have her,”
junior teammate Alex McGoodwin said. “Everyone loves
her.”