UCLA women’s tennis ends season with loss to Ohio State
Senior Kyle McPhillips fell to Ohio State’s Anna Sanford in the singles championship, but will continue to play with senior partner Catherine Harrison in the doubles bracket. (Ken Shin/ Daily Bruin)
By Ishan Ayyalasomayajula
May 16, 2016 12:52 a.m.
The UCLA women’s tennis team suffered a season-ending 4-1 loss to No. 4 Ohio State on Saturday afternoon.
The loss epitomized the season – the players fought tooth and nail for every point, and yet, were missing the push needed to propel them to victory.
The team entered Saturday’s NCAA Tournament Round of 32 match riding high after a convincing 4-1 victory over Notre Dame. A quick start on the doubles court led to victory – wins on courts one and two sealed the doubles point for the Bruins.
Seniors Catherine Harrison and Kyle McPhillips were dominant in singles – both handled their opponents in straight sets. No. 17 Harrison swept past No. 49 Quinn Gleason 6-4, 6-0 while McPhillips upset No. 84 Monica Robinson 6-4, 6-4.
The strong play initially continued against the Buckeyes during doubles play. The No. 7 pair of Harrison and McPhillips downed No. 9 Anna Sanford and Miho Kowase 6-2 on court one.
“We carried our momentum from Notre Dame into our (doubles) match,” Harrison said. “The energy helped us win.”
Sophomore Terri Fleming and freshman Alaina Miller clinched the point with a thrilling 7-6 (10-8) tiebreak win over the No. 58 duo of Gabriella De Santis and Sandy Niehaus.
“(Miller) and I were playing well. It was just nerves that were hard to deal with,” Fleming said. “We were able to deal with that and win.”
But the strong play fell apart during singles when the team lost all six opening sets.
Harrison, who fell 7-5, 6-3 to No. 3 Di Lorenzo, felt that her timid play in the beginning cost her the match.
“I gave her too much respect in the beginning,” Harrison said. “After I fell behind 4-1 (in the first set), I regained my confidence and came back before I lost a few no-add deuce points.”
Harrison’s last collegiate dual match displayed some of her best play – strong serves, imposing baseline play, and hard hit shots – all characteristics of a Catherine Harrison match.
It was a bittersweet goodbye for seniors Harrison and McPhillips. Their dual match careers ended with a loss, but only after much success.
“Collegiate tennis was extremely hard but worth it,” Harrison said. “UCLA helped improve me as a player and as a person.”
Though the team season has ended, McPhillips and Harrison play on. Harrison will compete in the singles championship, while the duo will compete in the doubles bracket.
