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The Honolulu Advertiser
Updated at 3:36 p.m., Tuesday, May 20, 2008

UCLA wins first NCAA women's tennis title

By JEFF LATZKE
AP Sports Writer

TULSA, Okla. — UCLA's women's tennis team finally got to contribute to the school's record haul of NCAA titles. The Bruins beat California 4-0 Tuesday for championship No. 102.

Riza Zalameda rallied to win the final two sets over Susie Babos of California 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, clinching it for the team that would have tied Florida with six second-place finishes if it had lost.

"This is just our year. Our year to win it," Bruins coach Stella Sampras Webster said. "I think we were the favorite to win. It took a lot of hard work and some luck and we were able to pull it off. It's great to get that win, that championship."

Freshman Andrea Remynse won at No. 4 singles, Alex McGoodwin won in the No. 6 singles spot and UCLA claimed the doubles point.

Sampras Webster was a part of four of UCLA's five second-place finishes. She coached the Bruins to the title match in 2004 and again last year, and played on runners-up in 1989 and 1991.

In her fifth try, she brought the title back to the state of California. Stanford has won 15 titles and Southern California won it twice.

"I feel for Cal because we've been there. It's tough. You get all the way to the finals and you just can't get that one more win," said Sampras Webster, who received a congratulatory text message from her younger brother, Pete Sampras. "It's tough. It's great to be in the national championship but once you're there you want to win it."

Babos won the opening set against Zalameda in the top-flight singles, but Zalameda came back and clinched the team title with an overhead smash less than 2 minutes after Remynse finished off her 7-6, 6-2 defeat of Claire Ilcinkas.

McGoodwin downed Bojana Bobusic 6-4, 6-1. Zalameda and Tracy Lin teamed to defeat Babos and Stephanie Kusano 9-7 in the No. 1 doubles and McGoodwin and Yasmin Schnack beat Bobusic and Cristina Visico 8-6 UCLA took the doubles point by winning two of the three matches.

"My first match point, I heard everyone just uproar and I double-faulted because I just go so scared," Zalameda said. "The next point, I just made that time my time. Time for UCLA. Time for history."

Marina Cossou and Ilcinkas beat UCLA's Elizabeth Lumpkin and Stephanie Wetmore 8-4 for Cal's only match victory.

The Golden Bears, playing their first season since longtime coach Jan Brogan retired, upset top-seeded Northwestern in the quarterfinals. The Golden Bears made the NCAA bracket in all 27 years since the tournament began and reached the semifinals six times, but had never before played for the championship.

"Having a new coach at the start of this year, they all just responded amazingly. They've been so much fun for me to work with and guide them. I'm proud," Cal coach Amanda Augustus said. "We didn't quite reach everything we wanted, but we were pretty darn close."