Despite anticlimactic season, seniors leave strong legacy
Junior Kyle McPhillips (pictured) and fellow junior Catherine Harrison will be counted on to fill the shoes of graduating seniors Robin Anderson, Chanelle Van Nguyen and Kaitlin Ray next season. (Aubrey Yeo/Daily Bruin senior staff)
By TuAnh Dam
May 22, 2015 1:13 a.m.
The season began with championship aspirations and ended with a runner-up finish.
No. 6 UCLA (23-5, 8-2 Pac-12) returned all but one starter from last year’s title run, but injuries and a shaky doubles lineup left the team vulnerable all season.
“It felt terrible losing,” said junior Kyle McPhillips. “It wasn’t a fun night and we’ll be thinking about this for a while, but all we can do is learn and move forward.”
Injuries hampered all eight starters throughout the season, limiting their practice time and preventing them from establishing a rhythm.
“Coming back, it was tough,” said senior Robin Anderson,
Injury limited doubles play as well. After not losing a doubles point last season, UCLA dropped seven this season, including three in the NCAA Tournament.
“We tried to get other doubles teams to improve,” said coach Stella Sampras Webster. “But with injuries and not being able to practice as much as we wanted, it showed our lack of experience.”
Even without a healthy and match-tested team, the Bruins were dangerous opponents, anchored by some of the top players in the country.
Anderson, ranked No. 1 in singles and No. 9 in doubles with sophomore Jennifer Brady, earned her second Pac-12 Player of the Year award and broke UCLA records in a dominant season. The Bruin senior earned her 127th career victory during the NCAA individual tournament, giving her the most wins by a No. 1 player in UCLA history and putting her second on the all-time win list behind Keri Phebus.
In singles, junior Catherine Harrison earned the Bruins’ third Pac-12 individual championship in three years, following the path of Brady in 2014 and McPhillips in 2013.
Behind its deep lineup, UCLA defeated conference and nonconference foes – including USC, Stanford, Baylor and last year’s national runner-up, North Carolina.
Seniors Chanelle Van Nguyen, Kaitlin Ray and Anderson leave UCLA as one of the most successful recruit classes in program history, with an NCAA championship in 2014 and four Final Four finishes overall. All three said they plan to start training for their professional careers after graduation.
Brady, ranked No. 209 in the Women’s Tennis Association singles rankings, will also begin her professional career, forfeiting her remaining eligibility.
Next season, the Bruins are led by upperclassmen Harrison and McPhillips, who will return as one of the top doubles teams in the country. UCLA also brings back starters Terri Fleming and Kristin Wiley for their sophomore seasons in hopes of building on a successful yet anticlimactic season.
