Athens, Ga. “”mdash; After amassing an impressive record of 19-3 during the regular season and blowing past the competition in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, the UCLA women’s tennis team saw its hopes of a national title come crashing down this afternoon, as the Bruins were defeated 4-2 by the defending national champion Duke Blue Devils in the Round of 16.
“We’ve had a great season, but Duke just played better than we did today,” coach Stella Sampras Webster said after Thursday’s match. “I’m disappointed that we didn’t play the way we know we can play. But that’s the way sports is. They played better.”
The Bruins, who were seeded No. 7 in the field of 64, got off to a sluggish start in doubles, culminating in the No. 4 doubles duo of senior Yasmin Schnack and junior Andrea Remynse losing to the nation’s No. 32 doubles tandem of Ellah Nze and Amanda Granson, 8-5, sealing the doubles point for the Blue Devils.
“It’s the worst time to have a bad day,” Schnack said of the doubles loss. “We were not executing. We weren’t really being disciplined and going for our targets. I’m extremely upset with myself about that. I feel like I let (Remynse) down and the team. The doubles point is really crucial.”
Things seemed to take a turn for the better for UCLA once singles play began, as the Bruins captured four of six possible first-set victories. But the momentum quickly shifted back to the Blue Devils in several of the second sets. Each Bruin that won the first set lost the second set, and two of those four Bruins went on to lose their singles matches.
The match was clinched when on court 2, Duke’s Elizabeth Plotkin came back from 4-0 in the third set to defeat UCLA junior Noelle Hickey, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3). Hickey also served for the match at 5-4 but was unable to hold off the pesky Plotkin.
Duke will move on to face its arch-rival North Carolina in the NCAA quarterfinals.