It was elation suspended. One final twist in a theater of turns.
As the ball sailed off Elise Wagle’s racket and touched the opposite baseline, her opponent raised a finger – the shot was called out.
But the chair umpire saw otherwise. They overturned the call, leaving the junior with a raised fist and a storm of teammates to welcome into her arms.
Albeit delayed, she was granted her glory.
Securing its fourth top-10 victory of the season, No. 15 UCLA women’s tennis (15-4, 7-1 Pac-12) washed out No. 7 Pepperdine (11-6, 2-0 WCC) in a 4-3 rollercoaster that extended just past the four-hour mark Thursday afternoon. Pushing their win streak to five, the Bruins claimed their 13th victory in their last 14 outings – a run that already included defeats of then-No. 8 USC and then-No. 5 Stanford.
“We just want to win so bad,” said junior Kimmi Hance. “Our team culture is the strongest it’s been since I’ve been on the team. We’re prouder than we’ve ever been.”
In a marathon match amid a year of many, this installment was a tale of two juniors.
Following its 15th doubles point of the dual-match season, UCLA saw three courts proceed through singles play in straight-set fashion en route to a 2-2 score. No. 32 Hance and Wagle entered comeback territory – both had faltered in the early going, and each needed to claim their final two frames to emerge victorious in Malibu.
Hance was particularly overmatched, securing just one game in her first set despite familiarity with her opponent – No. 14 Lisa Zaar – from battles of the past. At the set’s conclusion, she walked to her bench and searched her thoughts, formulating a revised plan of attack.
“My game plan was trying to not go for as much in the second set,” Hance said. “Hit your targets, and then obviously once I was more into the match momentum-wise, I was able to go for more.”
Then, a set littered with errors gave way to one dominated by back-and-forth action.
Hance traded blows with Zaar in the second, caught in extended rallies and responding with one more shot time and again. She finally earned a break at 5-3 with the chance to serve for the set, but Zaar came knocking, responding with a break of her own.
Dishing it right back allowed Hance to pull even. From there, she pushed hard on the gas pedal.
She proceeded to rattle off four straight games to open the decisive third with a 4-0 lead, drawing inspiration from her long-fought match against Stanford’s No. 10 Connie Ma two weeks ago.
“Remembering that kind of gave me confidence – that experience,” Hance said. “I knew I’d done it before, and I was going to try to do it again.”
In a momentous sport, though, confidence can be fleeting.
Zaar resurrected her game, halting any hopes of Hance running away with victory, and coming to a 4-4 standstill on court two. Whistles and chants from the onlooking Pepperdine men’s tennis team were only provoked by Hance’s decline and the fight shown by the Waves’ No. 94 Anna Campana.
It was on the very next court where Wagle was locked into a dogfight of her own. At risk of losing 7-5, 7-5 to Campana, the Bruin earned herself a second-set tiebreaker, but there was yet another turn in store.
Two key acts transpired within seconds – the first, Wagle’s 9-7 triumph in the tiebreak, and the second, Hance’s hold at 40-40 to take a 6-5 advantage in her third set. Earlier cheers from the opposition quieted.
“It’s great to see our players put in situations where there’s a lot of pressure, that’s what it’s going to be like at NCAAs,” said coach Stella Sampras Webster. “To see them play through that, and play at a great level is great for the team.”
Once No. 37 sophomore Tian Fangran fell to No. 52 Janice Tjen, reality was realized – Wagle and Hance held the power to maintain the Bruins’ winning course, or reverse it.
Hance took a step down the former path, outlasting Zaar 1-6, 6-4, 7-5, but Wagle suffered a break in her opening game of the third set, leaving her with a renewed outlook.
“If you’re going to lose, lose playing your game, but don’t lose playing a way that makes her look good,” Wagle said.
She wouldn’t have to worry about such an outcome. Wagle rolled all the way to a 5-7, 7-6 (9-7), 6-3 clinch, sealing a significant victory for the first time in her collegiate career.
It’s another signature win, adding to a resume beginning to overflow.
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