STANFORD, Calif. - In the grand scheme of things, Karin Miller's straight-set loss to Lilia Osterloh last Thursday will be best remembered, upon the announcement of her decision to turn pro, for bringing an end to Miller's brief collegiate career.
In terms of the NCAA women's tennis individual tournament, the freshman's semifinal loss brought an abrupt end to a dominating Duke run that just a few days earlier looked so promising. Two days before, the Blue Devils boasted three singles players and one doubles pair in the quarterfinals at the championships, held at the Taube Family Tennis Center in Stanford, Calif.
But last Wednesday, three of Duke's quarterfinalists fell, with only the top-seeded Miller advancing to the semis.
Miller did so with a gritty 7-5, 6-4 defeat of San Diego's Zuzana Lesenarova. Just as in her previous two matches, Miller looked on the verge of dropping the first set. Lesenarova led 5-4 and had three set points, at 0-40, on Miller's serve. But somehow Miller refused to lose, rallying to hold serve and taking the next two games as well for a 7-5 first set win.
In the second set, both players traded breaks of serve until Miller closed out the match, 6-4, by forcing a Lesenarova forehand wide.
While Miller was in control on Court One, third-seeded Vanessa Webb battled with Stanford's Julie Scott on Court Two. Scott, who just three days earlier won the Cardinal's championship-clinching match, played with the emotion and toughness that had carried her in the tournament all week.
Webb jumped to an early 4-1 lead in the first set only to watch Scott battle back and force a tiebreaker. Webb was ahead 6-4 in the tiebreak and appeared to have the set won on an overhead smash. But Scott made a spectacular stab at the ball, striking a return over Webb's head and, incredibly, just inside the baseline.
"I think that [shot] was definitely a momentum switch," Webb said. "More so for the crowd, because that's when they really got into it. They really got behind her in the tiebreaker, and that really got her pumped up."
Webb fought off one set point at 6-7, but Scott closed out the tiebreaker, and the set, 9-7, on a crosscourt forehand winner.
Scott put a normally aggressive Webb on the defensive by attacking the net and freezing her opponent with forehands down the line. But Webb, previously 24-1 on the year, rallied in the second set, winning 6-4 and appeared to regain the momentum.
In the third set, Webb fell behind as Scott broke her in the fourth game. Webb put the set back on serve by fighting off a match point in the ninth game and breaking Scott. In the 10th game, Webb fell behind 30-40 and this time, Scott converted the match point when Webb hit a backhand wide.
"I wish I'd won, but the shots weren't there," Webb said. "I didn't really have anything I could turn to because I just wasn't doing anything really well. No volleying, and I was hitting my forehand terrible. It's tough when you don't have confidence and you're not playing very well."
The loss brought a frustrating conclusion to the sophomore's season. She began the season by winning the second leg of the college grand slam and, starting Dec. 10, spent time atop the national rankings until a shoulder injury in January derailed her momentum.
Webb returned in mid-March but never regained the form she had in the fall. Even though she didn't lose all year until the NCAAs in either singles or doubles, she lacked the ability to put away points with the same ease she displayed earlier in the year.
"In the fall Vanessa played a lot better than she did here," Duke coach Jamie Ashworth said. "After you come back from an injury like hers, the doctors can tell you it's fine, but you have to believe it. She didn't know how much she could press on the shoulder, and she was disappointed that she couldn't prepare like she did [in the fall].
"She's gotten to the quarters of this twice, and I think that's eating at her, especially with the attention Vanessa had before the tournament with everyone saying either [Karin or her] could win the thing."
While last Wednesday's loss was a stunning upset for Webb, senior Wendy Fix saw her remarkable run to the quarterfinals also come to an end (see story, pg. 23). Playing Florida's M.C. White, the tournament's eventual runner-up, the clock finally struck midnight for the player who entered the NCAAs ranked 50th in the nation.
Early on, Fix was able to keep the first set on serve, taking a brief 2-1 lead. But White stormed back, taking advantage of a physically and emotionally drained Fix to win the next nine games, grabbing the first set 6-2 and opening a 4-0 lead in the second.
"I was just really worn down," Fix said. "I couldn't overcome becoming tired, and I told my legs to keep moving but I just couldn't move as well. I could tell that I was emotionally and physically drained."
Fix attempted a comeback but was unable to overcome the deficit, dropping the set, and the match, 6-3.
"I'm a little disappointed [with the loss]," Fix said. "But I had nothing to lose, and I'm proud and as happy as I could be with the whole tournament."
The senior All-American closed out her Blue Devil career with 110 singles wins, tied for sixth all-time at Duke.
In doubles play, Webb's frustrating day carried over into hers and Miller's quarterfinal match against Florida's top-seeded pair of Dawn Buth and Stephanie Nickitas.
Both Webb and Miller lacked the spark that had carried them to a 19-0 record entering the match. They committed a number of unforced errors and were thoroughly dominated by Buth and Nickitas, 6-2, 6-2. The Gator duo went on to capture the doubles title.
"It's too bad because we've played well the past few days," Webb said. "But they were good and just beat us."
With Wednesday's play finshed, and most of Duke's team on a plane ride home, Miller returned on Thursday for her semifinal contest with Osterloh. All week long, Osterloh played above her No. 8 seeding, handing Webb her first loss of the season in straight sets in the team semifinals and dispatching fifth-seeded Agnes Muzamel of Mississippi 6-0, 6-1 in the individual quarterfinals.
Osterloh, also a freshman, never stumbled against Miller in a 6-2, 6-2 rout. She broke Miller's serve in the first and third games, taking an early 3-0 lead, and never looked back.
Miller's four games came on breaks of Osterloh's serve, as Miller was unable to hold her serve even once. Three times, Osterloh broke at 0-40. She closed out the match, fittingly, by breaking Miller for the eighth time when the Duke freshman hit a forehand long. Osterloh went on to win the tournament the next day by routing Florida's White in just 50 minutes, 6-1, 6-1.
"I don't know if there's anything I could've done," Miller said. "I tried everything I could. Her game was just too powerful.
"I didn't expect her to play that well. I knew she'd play well but not that well. Anything today I would've tried wouldn't have worked."
Miller said afterward that she's only felt as big a struggle in previous matches against professionals Mary Pierce and Lindsay Davenport.
Fittingly, that is Miller's competition as she heads on to a pro career.
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