Texas beats California in Saturday’s final, for program’s first national title. 64 club teams from around the country competed for national title this week.
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| 2008 USTA National Campus Championship winners: the Texas Longhorns! (Photo: Susan Mullane) |
The fifth time was a charm for the Longhorns: Texas has advanced to the championship match five times (’00, ’01, ’02, ’05 and ’08), but hadn’t clinched the title until this year. This was the first finals appearance for California since the tournament began. This event, which dates back to 2000, offers a national championship for non-varsity club and intramural tennis programs.
Today’s final went back and forth between the two squads. Cal took an early lead, winning the women’s doubles match, 6-3, and a 6-1 win in women’s singles put the Bears up 12-4. But the Longhorns came roaring back, taking 13 straight games from the Bears to stay in the match. In men’s doubles, Jorge Bouffier and Matthew Glasgow won 6-0, closing the lead to 12-10. Bouffier gave the Longhorns their first lead of the day, as he won 6-0 in men’s singles, putting Texas up 16-12. The match came down to mixed doubles, where Cal’s Julienne Yamamoto and Peter Aguilar faced off against Texas’s Glasgow and Karla Kruse. Glasgow and Kruse prevailed, winning 6-4, and giving Texas the 22-16 championship.
“This was my fourth year coming to the national championships, and to go out on top is the perfect way to finish my college career,” George Chen, the Texas team captain said. “It was the perfect graduation present.”
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| The Texas Longhorns celebrate after thier victory over California. (Photo: Susan Mullane) |
Tennis legend Billie Jean King was on hand today as honorary guest to support and share her tennis insights with participating teams.
Championship Match
Texas 22, California 16
Women's Doubles - California d. Texas, 6-3
Women's Singles - California d. Texas, 6-1
Men's Doubles - Texas d. California, 6-0
Men's Singles - Texas d. California, 6-0
Mixed Doubles - Texas d. California, 6-4
Note: A match using this World TeamTennis format includes sets of men's and women's singles, men's and women's doubles and mixed doubles, each game during the match counts as a point towards the overall team score. Tie-breakers are played at 5-5.
Past USTA National Campus Champions (Runner-Up) - Site
2000 - University of North Carolina (University of Texas) - Austin, Texas
2001 - University of North Carolina (University of Texas) - Austin, Texas
2002 - Texas A&M University (University of Texas) - Austin, Texas
2003 - University of Florida (Texas A&M University) - Daytona Beach, Fla.
2004 - Texas A&M University (University of Virginia) - Daytona Beach, Fla.
2005 - Texas A&M University (University of Texas) - San Diego, Calif.
2006 - Texas A&M University (University of Virginia) - Austin, Texas
2007 - Texas A&M University (University of Virginia) - Cary, N.C.
2008 - University of Texas (California-Berkley) - Cary, N.C.
The championship opened on Thursday with 16 four-team pools, with schools advancing to bracket play on Friday and Saturday. The first-place teams from each of the 16 pools advance to one bracket (that determines the overall champion), the second-place teams from the pools advance to another bracket, the third place teams advance to a third bracket and the fourth place-teams to a fourth bracket.