Coach Stella Sampras Webster is no stranger to the Bruin-Cardinal rivalry, which dates back to her playing days.

“We never beat Stanford, to be honest,” she said. “Stanford dominated.”

That narrative has continued to dominate in the years since the former NCAA doubles champion hung up her sneakers. Entering this weekend, the Bruins held a 9-34 record against their Northern Californian foe.

The script flipped Saturday evening.

No. 17 UCLA women’s tennis (3-2) fell 3-4 to No. 16 California (2-0) on Friday at Hellman Tennis Complex in Berkeley, before responding Saturday with a 7-0 rout against No. 11 Stanford (2-3) at the Arrillaga Tennis Center – Taube Pavilion in Stanford, California.

The victory over Stanford marked the end of a string of away matches that saw UCLA face four ranked opponents, including then-No. 24 UCF and No. 5 LSU, emerging 2-2.

“I think we’re right in there against these ranked teams,” Sampras Webster said. “We’ve got some great players that know how to win matches. And I’m really encouraged by the last four matches. … I’m excited to see what they’re going to do in the future, because I think we’re just going to get better and better throughout the season.”

The weekend marked the next step in the rise of the nation’s No. 1 freshman. Mayu Crossley tallied two victories against top-20 opponents, defeating No. 9 Berta Passola Folch 5-7, 6-2, 6-0 on Friday and No. 18 Alyssa Ahn 6-3, 6-1 on Saturday. Crossley is now 4-1 in singles matches on the season.

On the other side of the doubles alley, Crossley and fellow freshman Kayla Chung fell into a 4-0 deficit Saturday after a 4-6 doubles loss Friday.

As oak trees cast shadows from above the tennis pavilion, the freshmen climbed back from the brink of defeat, winning six consecutive games to stave off Stanford’s Sein Myoung and Morgan Shaffer 6-4 to clinch the doubles point.

“We started off with really low energy and struggled with making the balls,” Crossley said. “We started finding our rhythm and having more energy towards the end. So it was really good.”

This weekend also marked the resurgence of Ahmani Guichard.

The junior, who was named a Big Ten Women’s Tennis Player to Watch in January, opened the dual-match season with three consecutive losses.

That changed this weekend, when Guichard defeated No. 63 Naomi Xu 2-6, 7-5, 7-5 and Myoung 6-1, 6-4.

“I think I focused a lot on my footwork from the beginning, getting the right spacing with my feet,” Guichard said. “I did a better job starting off the match really strong.”

The Bruins’ court one singles player, Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer, had dropped the first set in every match entering Saturday. That trend continued with a 6-1 opening set loss to No. 67 Monika Ekstrand.

But the senior responded, trouncing Ekstrand 6-1, 6-2 in the following two sets to clinch her second singles win of the season.

“I knew she was gonna keep fighting,” Sampras Webster said. “She’s one of the best competitors in the country and she’s not going to give away a lot of points.”

As Sampras Webster contextualized the Bruins’ victory Saturday, she highlighted the tradition and fanfare fueling the rivalry she has been a part of for almost four decades.

She thought about the pro-Stanford crowd, and how her group embraced the away atmosphere.

She thought about all that had gone right for them Saturday, all the promise the victory suggests going forward.

The 30 season head coach summed it up in six words.

“It was just a great day.”