Chi edges Phebus in All-UCLA Rolex Indoor final
By Chris Isidro
Center court at the Brookhaven Country Club in Dallas looked
more like a UCLA practice session.
But it was the finals of the Rolex Indoor National
Championships, and for the top Bruin duo of Jane Chi and Keri
Phebus, it carried all the significance of a major tournament, the
third leg of the collegiate grand slam.
No. 8 Phebus reached her seventh straight final, but
fifth-ranked Chi took the prize 6-4, 6-4 for her third title this
season and second win over her Bruin teammate.
"I’m just happy to have won it, it’s the biggest one I’ve had so
far," Chi said. "I’ve been playing hard, working out and I’m just
glad to see it pay off."
The match started slowly as nerves bothered both players.
"The first few games we started off really tight," Chi said. "We
were both double faulting and when one of us got serves in, the
other would just miss it."
But Chi established her rhythm and proved to have a step on her
fellow junior yesterday. While Phebus struck several fine shots,
Chi was able to scramble and dig up her offerings.
"Jane was a little quicker today and I think the movement aspect
was a key to the match," head coach Bill Zaima said. "And Keri was
not as fast as she was earlier and that tells us we need to take
care of our bodies so we can go through a whole tournament."
The road to the finals was littered with obstacles for both Chi
and Phebus. In her second round match, Chi routed No. 13 Anne
Pastor of Texas 6-0, 6-1. The semifinal pitted her against
Florida’s Dawn Buth, who upset No. 1 Kelly Pace of Texas, but Chi
had no troubles winning 7-6 (7-3), 6-2.
Phebus faced even taller hurdles, encountering No. 2 Nora Koves
from Kansas in the second round. But Phebus, one of the hottest
player in the nation, tamed the Hungarian national 6-1, 7-5. The
semifinal was a rematch of the Pac-10 Indoor finals against Arizona
State’s Kori Davidson with similar results, Phebus prevailing 7-5,
6-3.
But Phebus did not come home empty-handed as she took the
doubles title with Susie Starrett 6-0, 5-7, 6-2 over California’s
Pam Nelson and Keirsten Alley. Starrett, who had been suffering
from an upset stomach the night before, keyed the Bruin
victory.
"Starrett was playing really well and as Keri and I told her,
(Phebus/Starrett) go as far as Susie takes them," Zaima said. "And
Susie also took her share of NCAA-approved medicine last
night."
The No.8 All-American tandem had an easy road to the finals,
encountering just one difficult match against No. 4 Dana Evans and
Lule Aydin of Wake Forest, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Chi, teamed with sister Stephanie, also enjoyed a solid weekend
in doubles. Seeded sixth, the Chi sisters upset No. 2 Monica Mraz
and Wendy Lyons of Duke in the quarters 6-3, 6-2. Duke targeted
Stephanie throughout, but the freshman displayed unusual poise.
Zaima believes Chi and Phebus’ performances in singles and
doubles only confirmed what he knew all along.
"I think earlier in the year, many thought Pace and (Lucie)
Ludvigova were the best one-two punch in the country," Zaima said.
"But Jane and Keri, in whatever order, are the best duo in the
country because they also anchor two of the top five doubles
teams."