The momentum of the match was on the verge of shifting as sophomore Terri Fleming served for match point. A strong serve followed by an effective backhand slice caused Cal’s Olivia Hauger to hit an unnecessary lob shot, setting Fleming up for the easy smash and a victory on court five.
UCLA was now back in contention against No. 1 Cal, down 3-2 with only two matches left to finish. The chance of handing Cal its first loss of the season was now in the hands of veteran seniors Kyle McPhillips and Catherine Harrison.
The Golden Bears forced each of the final two matches into a third set and fatigue began to settle in for the Bruins’ most experienced players. The upset proved not meant to be for UCLA, as Harrison and McPhillips each fell in their third set, resulting in a 5-2 victory for Cal.
“We had chances, we had opportunities,” said coach Stella Sampras Webster. “A few breaks here and there and it could’ve been a totally different story.”
The loss to Cal (8-0) finds No. 22 UCLA (5-3) on its first losing streak of the season, after No. 15 Pepperdine handily defeated the Bruins on Thursday 6-1. The pair of losses will likely place the Bruins outside of the top-25 rankings for the first time this year.
UCLA got off to an promising start in the match, stealing the doubles point away from Cal with wins on courts one and three. What looked like the Bruins’ main weakness against Pepperdine transformed into their main strength against Cal, thanks in part to the dominance of Harrison and McPhillips on court one.
The pair has yet to lose a doubles match this season and has defeated the No. 2 and No. 3 doubles pairs in the nation during the past two matches. Cal’s top pairing of juniors Maegan Manasse and Denise Starr had given UCLA’s No. 1 duo difficulty until Saturday, Harrison said.
“Denise and Maegan have historically caused us a lot of trouble and we don’t know why,” Harrison said. “We’ve never played well against them, so it was a nice win and a nice bright spot.”
The Golden Bears recovered quickly after losing the doubles point, winning three singles matches in two sets each. But the majority of the match was focused on Fleming, Harrison and McPhillips, who each controlled the rhythm in the first set of their respective matches.
Fleming’s 6-1, 7-5 win over Hauger – the No. 102 singles player in the nation – was colossal for the sophomore, who has endured a lingering knee injury dated back to last season.
“(She’s) had opportunities, but just hasn’t been able to get over the hump of getting a good win,” Sampras Webster said. “I just hope this match did that for her, so that she can build from it and go into (the game against) USC feeling confident.”
Many of the Bruins struggled to counter the Golden Bears’ aggressiveness in the backcourt and at the net. The dynamic playing style kept many of the Bruins off-balance and out of reach of passing shots across the court.
Despite the struggle of adjusting to the dictating style of play displayed by the Golden Bears and the Waves, the Bruins gained valuable experience against top-ranked competition this past weekend.
“It gives us confidence and motivates us because we know we can beat these teams and we get another chance to play Cal and we have a lot more matches to go,” McPhillips said. “I think we have a positive attitude going forward even though we lost these two matches.”