ATHENS, Ga. “”mdash; For almost an entire weekend, the UCLA
women’s tennis team had exorcised its demons. But on the
biggest stage with the biggest prize at stake, the Bruins could not
shake the demon that has haunted them the most.
At this year’s NCAA Tournament, the ninth-seeded Bruins
dispatched a USC team that swept them during the regular season,
pushed past the quarterfinals for the first time since 1996, and
advanced to the finals for the first time since 1991. But it was
there they met a familiar hurdle that stopped them in their
tracks.
The Bruins’ three previous appearances in the finals all
ended the way Sunday’s did ““ a loss to Stanford. The
Cardinal’s 4-1 win over UCLA gave them their 13th NCAA
Championship and the Bruins a sobering end to their magical
run.
“It was a great tournament for us,” coach Stella
Sampras Webster said. “They were the better team
today.”
Jumping out to a 3-0 lead after taking the doubles point and
quick, straight-set wins on Courts 2 and 5, the remaining four
Bruins on the court were allowed no margin of error.
Sarah Gregg was able to give the team its only point with her
6-3, 6-3 win over Lauren Barnikow, but the Cardinal refused to let
the Bruins get any closer.
Daniela Bercek was poised to secure a second point, leading 5-3
in the third set over Amber Liu on Court 1, but her match was
suspended when Erin Burdette closed out the match with a 7-6 (5),
6-3 win over Feriel Esseghir on Court 3.
Esseghir had extended the match by fighting off two match points
to hold serve a game earlier, but was unable to run down
Burdette’s overhead to save a third.
“I had to just keep fighting long enough to give (Bercek)
a chance to win her match and then try to stay in mine,”
Esseghir said.
Bercek did have two match points, but could not convert on
either against the defending NCAA singles champion. With both
players’ attention diverted towards Court 3, Bercek never had
the third opportunity Burdette did.
“I was trying to focus on my match, but was cheering for
Feriel,” Bercek said.
The singles was Burdette’s second clinching win of the
match. In doubles, she paired with Barnikow to defeat Bercek and
Lauren Fisher 8-6 on Court 1, giving the Cardinal the first point
of the day.
Bercek and Fisher had a 5-3 lead, but could not hold on against
the top-ranked duo in the nation. Bercek lost her serve at 6-6,
giving Burdette a chance to serve out the set.
Like Esseghir’s singles effort, the Bruins managed to
stave off the first two set points, only to lose the third when
Fisher’s backhand sailed long.
“If we had won the doubles point, it could have been a
different match,” Sampras Webster said.
Yet even if the Bruins had taken the doubles point, the match
would have been a struggle. In the two teams’ April meeting,
UCLA grabbed the doubles point, but Laura Gordon was the only Bruin
to notch a singles win, becoming the only one in the lineup to
score a singles win in three previous matches against the
Cardinal.
“They don’t beat themselves,” Sampras Webster
said. “They don’t make unforced errors and extend
matches that make you really play.”
Stanford’s near flawless performance on Sunday was typical
of its season as a whole. After going undefeated during the regular
season, the Cardinal ran through the tournament without giving up a
point until facing UCLA. The fact that the Bruins put up the
stiffest resistance was not surprising to Stanford coach Lele
Forood.
“I thought it was very likely we would wind up playing
UCLA in the final when we arrived here,” she said of the
Bruins, who became the lowest seed to reach the finals in
tournament history. “They’re an outstanding
team.”
But Stanford has been in a league of its own. With the win, the
Cardinal captured their third championship in the last four
years.
“The first one was really special,” said Barnikow,
one of two seniors who has been on board for all three titles.
“The second one was cool and then we lost last year, and it
got me even more motivated and makes this year
extra-special.”
Watching the Cardinal dogpile on the court after winning, the
Bruins can only hope the motivation they gain from this
year’s experience makes next year’s extra-special for
them too.