Wednesday, May 28, 2003
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- Stanford freshman Amber Liu overcame a 5-3 deficit in the first set and beat top-seeded Vilmarie Castellvi of Tennessee 7-6 (5), 6-2 Saturday in the NCAA women's singles final.
The fifth-seeded Liu won three straight games to take a 6-5 lead, but wasted three set points in the 12th game and another in the tiebreaker before taking the first set.
Liu controlled the second set, getting a break for a 3-1 lead, and won the second set in 39 minutes.
"There were definitely some nerves that came into play today," Liu said. "I just had to fight through them the first couple of minutes of the match. I did, and I relaxed after that."
Castellvi, a senior, had six double faults in the first set and eight in the match.