“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”
Dickens’ line directly applied to the Bruins’ Big Ten tournament outing.
No. 4 seed UCLA women’s tennis (16-7, 9-4 Big Ten) defeated No. 5 seed Washington (19-5, 9-4) 4-1 on Friday before falling to No. 1 seed Ohio State (23-4, 12-1) 4-2 on Saturday in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals at the Auer Tennis Complex in Columbus.
4-1 win vs. No. 5 seed Washington on April 24
Kate Fakih dropped the ball on the red clay.
The ball was in her hands with a chance to go to the semifinals. Deuce point, ad-in.
Twelve seconds later, the sophomore raised her hand in triumph.
For a moment, it was routine. She was expressionless, as though she had done it a thousand times before. But as she saw the pack of Bruins running toward her, the weight of the moment appeared to hit Fakih.
Her walk turned into a hop. Then, it became a dance. Fakih embraced the squad she had propelled to victory, holding her hands and racket up high.
Fakih’s successful deuce point to defeat Alexia Jacobs 6-3, 6-3 clinched Friday’s win for the Bruins.
“I was really nervous but excited for the point,” Fakih said. “I thought that I was going to throw up.”
Sophomore Olivia Center earned a straight-set victory against Marie Weissheim to push the Bruins’ lead to 3-1 while setting the stage for her doubles partner’s clincher. Center said she felt a wave of happiness as she watched Fakih’s triumph.
“I was so happy,” Center said. “We’re towards the end of the season, and these are going to be the last matches that we get to play with this team. I was just so happy, and everyone else was. We were just grateful that we got to play another match and move on to the next round.”
Friday did not begin well for the Bruins, who lost the doubles point and trailed 1-0.
But it closed with a jubilant sophomore’s dance.
4-2 loss vs. No. 1 seed Ohio State on April 25
Saturday seemed to be the Bruins’ magic day.
No. 24 duo of Fakih and Center bested No. 23 Flora Johnson and Luciana Perry 6-2, and No. 64 duo of freshman Mayu Crossley and senior Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer won against No. 34 Teah Chavez and Hephzibah Oluwadare 7-5 to clinch the doubles point.
In stark contrast to UCLA’s 4-0 loss to Ohio State on March 14, the Bruins were on the board.
Singles was a different story.
The Buckeyes trounced the Bruins, securing each of their four points in straight sets. Center and Fakih both lost a set in tiebreaker fashion before losing the final two singles points of the day.
“It’s just so disappointing when you’re so close to being able to maybe beat a top-three team in the country and just fall short,” said coach Stella Sampras Webster. “Losing is always tough, but we learn a lot, and we move on and we get ready for the next one.”
Crossley was the silver lining.
Despite the team loss, the freshman had the biggest moment of her young career, defeating then-No. 5 Teah Chavez 6-1, 6-3. It was her first top-five victory and marked her 11th consecutive straight-set singles victory.
“Energy was different from previous matches,” Crossley said. “It’s definitely more intense. People are fighting harder. And those pressures are different. Every match, you’re so close, you never know what’s going to happen.”
The Bruins have turned the page on the Big Ten tournament, shifting their attention to this weekend’s NCAA competition.
And their head honcho remained optimistic after the up-and-down Big Ten tournament showing.
“Beating Washington was a great win for us,” Sampras Webster said. “Overall, it was really positive. I really believe if the girls can compete and play like they did this weekend, we can do quite well.”
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