NICOLE MILLER/Daily Bruin Sara Walker
takes a swing at the NCAA Individual Tournament. She was defeated
in the second round by Alabama’s Mirela Viadelescu.
By Hannah Gordon
Daily Bruin Contributor
The last Bruins standing were sent home Thursday when junior
Petya Marinova and freshman Lauren Fisher lost to Stanford’s
Gabriela Lastra and Laura Granville 7-6, 2-6, 6-1 in the doubles
bracket quarterfinals of the NCAA Individual Tournament.
On Wednesday, the only Bruin in the singles tournament, No. 16
seed sophomore Sara Walker, was knocked out in the second round
6-2, 6-1 by Alabama’s Mirela Viadelescu, ranked No. 20.
“The match was a lot closer than the score,” said
UCLA Head Coach Stella Sampras. “Every game was close. Every
point was tough.”
“Sara came across a player she doesn’t match up well
against,” Sampras added.
According to Sampras, most American players, including Walker,
tend to hit hard and flat, preferring balls in their strike zone.
Many foreign players like Viadelescu, on the other hand, vary their
shots more. Viadelescu hit high and low, slow and with slice.
Walker was not used to a player who could run down her powerful
shots.
“She didn’t give me any power or pace, and I’m
not used to that,” Walker said. “I just wasn’t
very patient.”
Walker still leaves the tournament with All-American honors and
now shares that status with her teammates, freshman Lauren Fisher
and junior Petya Marinova. Marinova and Fisher became All-Americans
when they defeated Cal’s Raquel Kops-Jones and Anita Kurimay
6-4, 7-5 in the round of 16.
“Being an All-American is a big deal because it is my
first time,” Marinova said. “I am a junior, and this is
my first time at the NCAA Individual Tournament, and I never
thought I would be here.”
Against the duo from Cal, Marinova and Fisher came out strong,
putting away the first set 6-4. But then they lost energy in the
second set, falling behind 4-0.
“We are not consistent with our energy,” Fisher
said. “But we got it back in the last couple games. Petya
made good defensive shots and we were very alert.”
Marinova agreed.
“We got energy out of nowhere and started playing the best
tennis I feel we’ve played all year,” she said.
After an inconsistent season, they made their coach proud with
the match.
“It was a good test for them to stay together, stick with
the game plan,” Sampras said. “They wanted it bad, and
it showed.”
The victory was exciting for Marinova, but she still wanted
more.
“I don’t want to be satisfied with this because we
can do even better,” Marinova said.
But the Cardinal’s Lastra and Granville forced Marinova
and Fisher to be satisfied with reaching the quarterfinals as they
were beaten 7-6, 2-6, 6 1. The match came down to a few close
points as UCLA lost the tie-breaker in the first set. The Bruins
picked up momentum to take the second set 6-2 but did not play as
well in the third, where they lost 6-1.
“We lost focus in the third set,” Fisher said.
“We weren’t playing smart shots.”
Marinova admitted that she wondered what would have happened if
they had won the tie-breaker but reminded herself that you never
know how the match would have gone.
Ranked No. 18 during the season, Marinova and Fisher beat the
odds by making it as far as they did. They were one of only eight
teams to make the quarterfinals and lost to the second best team in
the country. But just after the loss, this thought was no comfort
to Marinova.
“It doesn’t matter that they are the No. 2
seed,” she said. “You can never be happy that you
lost.”