Andrews, Broomfield Close Careers With NCAA Title
May 25, 2019 | Women's Tennis
ORLANDO, Fla. โ Third-seeded Gabby Andrews and Ayan Broomfield secured the seventh NCAA doubles championship in UCLA women's tennis program history Saturday, outlasting Kate Fahey-Brienne Minor of Michigan 5-7, 7-6(6), 1-0(9).
Andrews-Broomfield completed its season with a 26-8 record. The pair registered five wins in the season-ending tournament, including three that ended in third-set, 10-point tiebreakers. The championship marks the first for head coach Stella Sampras Webster and the UCLA women's tennis program since 2008, when Tracy Lin and Riza Zalameda took the crown.
?? ?? National Champions!
โ NCAA Tennis (@NCAATennis) May 25, 2019
No. 3 Gabby Andrews & Ayan Broomfield d. Fahey/Minor (Michigan) 5-7, 7-6, 11-9! #NCAATennis | @uclawtennis pic.twitter.com/5F9cuQ3JQs
"Indescribable," said Andrews. "The happiest moment of my life. Happiest day of my life. One hundred percent. We worked so hard for this and I think we deserve it. We really pushed ourselves and we didn't give up and we strived for every point, like how we did last night.
"It was a tough match. They played really well. They're an amazing team. Fighters. We're just really happy to get the win today. It's indescribable, honestly."
A break of serve ignited a red-hot start to the first set for Andrews and Broomfield, who followed with another en route to a 5-1 advantage. The deficit did not faze Fahey-Minor, however, as the Wolverines took each of the next six games to capture the first set and, seemingly, firm control of the match.
The second set began with four holds for a 2-2 score. Andrews-Broomfield picked up a break for 3-2, in what became a trend the rest of the way. The pairs alternated breaks into a second-set tiebreaker, where Fahey-Minor hoped to secure its title. The Bruins jumped out to a 5-3 lead before watching the Wolverines counter with the next three points for championship point. Andrews-Broomfield did not cooperate, taking the final three to set up a deciding 10-pointer.
The pairs were tied at 2-2, 4-4, 7-7 and 8-8 before Andrews-Broomfield took its first lead of the frame and match point at 9-8. Fahey-Minor pulled even once more, but the Bruins collected the final two points to seize the championship. After a Fahey return of a Broomfield serve, Andrews slammed an overhead shot up the middle that did not make it back to the net. The Bruins embraced head coach Sampras Webster as part of the celebration.
"As a competitor, there's no better way to win a national championship," said Broomfield. "It's one thing to play a final and cruise through it. It's another thing to go through the ups and downs and have to battle back. That's what competition is. That's what collegiate tennis is. It's this fight. It's unbelievable. It's an incredible feeling.
"It was incredible being out there. It's an experience that I'll never forget."
????#NCAATennis | @uclawtennis pic.twitter.com/IQjgk2LGUF
โ NCAA Tennis (@NCAATennis) May 25, 2019
With Maxime Cressy and Keegan Smith's win on the men's side, UCLA completed a sweep of the doubles championships. That marked a first by any program since 1988. The Bruins also accomplished the feat that year, as Patrick Galbraith-Brian Garrow won on the men's side and Sampras-Allyson Cooper was victorious on the women's side.
UCLA WOMEN'S TENNIS NCAA DOUBLES CHAMPIONS
1982 โ L. Lewis & H. Ludloff
1988 โ A. Cooper & S. Sampras
1992 โ M. Ceniza & I. McCalla
1995 โ K. Phebus & S. Starrett
2004 โ D. Bercek & L. Fisher
2008 โ T. Lin & R. Zalameda
2019 โ G. Andrews & A. Broomfield
Players Mentioned
