Three hours and 40 minutes. That’s how long the battle between senior Sanaa Bhambri and California’s Tayler Davis carried on in the first round of the NCAA Singles Championship May 25 in Palo Alto, Calif.
Bhambri, ranked No. 28 in the nation, managed to outlast No. 55 Davis after three intense sets, the first and last of which ended in tiebreakers. The final score: 6-7 (2-7), 6-3, 7-6 (7-3). The result — Bhambri became the first female tennis player in N.C. State history to win a match and advance to the round of 32 teams as a singles player in the individual tournament. Bhambri responded humbly when she realized she has set a new school record.
“That wasn’t something that was on my mind,” Bhambri said. “It’s not even anything that I’ve thought about all year; but it’s nice to know it’s a record. I’d be glad if it was broken sooner than later. It’s only good that the program keeps growing and getting better.”
After breaking into stride with a win on the first day of competition, Bhambri set her sights on Stanford’s No. 43 Stacy Tan. After winning the first set 7-5, Bhambri dropped two straight sets, 3-6, 1-6, to end her college career in singles play. A few hours later, Bhambri was back on the court with doubles partner Sandhya Nagaraj for the opening match of the doubles tournament.
Ranked No. 17 in the nation, the duo focused their efforts upon the No. 13 team from the University of Washington. Unfortunately, the two were outplayed by the Huskies and defeated 4-6, 3-6, marking the end of both of their college tennis careers. Bhambri showed mixed feelings once recognizing that her career had met its end.
“It’s bittersweet,” Bhambri said. “I wish I had another year. I think considering it was my only year competing in college tennis, it was my goal to make the most of it. I think I succeeded in doing that.”
Even though Bhambri set a new record in singles play, it would be foolish to not acknowledge the contribution from her doubles partner, Sandhya Nagaraj. Together, Bhambri and Nagaraj ranked as high as No. 7 in the nation as a doubles team and made a respectable appearance at the NCAA tournament. Coach Hans Olsen described just how difficult it is to qualify for the NCAA tournament as a doubles team.
“The doubles is an elite group,” Olsen said. “It’s a 32-team draw. They have six or seven at-large teams in there so you have to be a top 25 team to play in that field. All of the teams are really good. I thought that both girls just had a great year overall and really deserved and earned their spots in this tournament.”
Nagaraj shared her teammate’s sentiment towards their appearance in the NCAA tournament but wishes that more of her other teammates could have been there to share their experience.
“It was the first time that I’ve been to the NCAA,” Nagaraj said. “It was exciting to see the rest of the players compete and being a part of it. I learned a lot of things. It was kind of lonely, though. It would have been really great if everyone could have made it with us. A lot of teams came with a lot of people in different events. I think working hard towards this goal is something everyone can work to do.”
The Indian duo’s appearance and Bhambri’s victory both represent a big stepping stone for the women’s tennis program. With the experience from their achievements and the addition of two incoming freshmen from the UK, coach Olsen thinks this is just a first taste of better things to come next season.
“The rest of the girls on the team want to be in that tournament,” Olsen said. “They really want to excel past the round of 32. We ended up in the round of 32 in everything — singles, doubles, and as a team. It’s a young team next year and a lot of them have the talent to be in the individual tournament at the end of the year.
“It will be difficult and lot of work, but I think they all have that vision after seeing what Sanaa [Bhambri] and Sandhya [Nagaraj] did this year. Just having those experiences and everyone being around that success gives the confidence everyone needs to do more of that. This year has been a big part of what we plan on doing next year.”
