The news reports called Lauren Embree’s performance gutsy and phenomenal and heroic and other lively adjectives.
In highly competitive tennis a 4-0 deficit in the third set is usually a death sentence for the player on the wrong side of the score. For Embree in Tuesday night’s NCAA Championships, it was a wake-up call.
“I wanted to keep playing for my team,’’ Embree said Wednesday afternoon, a couple of hours after waking up and realizing Tuesday night was not a dream. “I probably didn’t look as nervous as I was, but I was.’’
With her match against Stanford’s Mallory Burdette tied at one set apiece and the Gators on the verge of losing to the Cardinal for the second consecutive year on the biggest stage in women’s college tennis, Embree dug deep.
The 20-year-old sophomore went places inside her competitive psyche that she believed were there but wasn’t quite sure. You can’t truly know until you face a predicament like Embree stared in the face on Tuesday.
She had led the first set 5-1 before Burdette, whose powerful strokes sealed Stanford’s win over the Gators in the 2010 NCAA Championships, stormed back with winner after winner for a 7-5 victory.
Thoughts of last year started to creep into Embree’s head.
“No one should ever have to go through that because we were in that same position last year and it was just a terrible feeling,’’ Embree said.
Embree refocused, knowing she had to stick to her serve-and-volley game rather than try to get into a hitting contest with Burdette, a player Embree faced multiple times during her junior career. Slowly, Embree regained the momentum and won the second set, 6-3.
The match was down to the final set. And just when it appeared Embree was in control, the next thing she knew she was down 4-0 as the Gators faced another heartbreaking end, even more so when Florida’s Olivia Janowicz won at No. 6 singles to tie the match 3-3 and it all came down to the Embree-Burdette match.
All eyes at Stanford’s Taube Tennis Stadium turned to Court No. 2, as did a national TV audience on ESPNU.
Stanford coach Lele Forood later said she had never seen anything like it.
“That was the most electric atmosphere I have ever experienced in my college career,’’ Forood said.
One shot at a time. That was the way Embree worked her way back into the third set. Once Embree trimmed Burdette’s lead to 4-3 is when she said she really started to think something special could happen.
“I knew I was back in it,’’ Embree said. “It’s a big difference being down 4-3 or 5-2. I really focused on winning that game.’’
She won the next two games as well, taking a 5-4 lead and making the rest of the grueling third-set tiebreaker a nail-biter for the coaches and players standing around on adjacent courts watching every shot.
Every time she swung her racket, one thought kept popping into Embree’s head.
“I need to win this match in order to win the championship.’’
The tiebreaker went back and forth until Embree clinched Florida’s first national title in eight years with the final two points, the last coming when Burdette hit long. Embree tossed her racket into the air and froze temporarily as her teammates and coaches stormed the court.
Gators coach Roland Thornqvist took in the championship moment from a distance.
“Lordy, lordy, lordy,’’ he uttered, making his way toward the celebration.
Around 11:30 Wednesday morning Pacific Daylight Time – about 15 hours after her shining moment – Lauren Taylor Embree was still processing the night before. The victory gave the Gators their fifth national championship in school history and snapped Stanford’s 12-year home win streak.
In addition, Embree is the first player to clinch the NCAA team title with a third-set tiebreaker victory in the final match since collegiate tennis began the doubles-followed-by-singles format in 2001.
“I just tried to fight as hard as I could for my team,’’ she said. “It didn’t matter how tired we were. We were going to stay out there as long as it took.’’
After the match was over and the interviews completed and photos snapped, the Gators went back to the hotel and then out to a celebratory dinner at an Italian restaurant. They enjoyed a couple of hours there and returned to the hotel to finally rest.
Embree said she fell asleep about 1 a.m., waking often with the match on a constant loop in her head.
“The night was so surreal to me,’’ she said. “I really couldn’t believe that just happened and that we just won a national championship. Our team has worked so hard to be in that position.
“It’s definitely the best experience I’ve ever experienced in my life. To get that win for the team, it feels so amazing.’’
She spent part of Wednesday replying to numerous text messages and Facebook posts and Tweets.
“I’ve had a lot of random people who were watching and decided to contact me and say congratulations,’’ she said. “I’m just thankful for all that support.’’
Embree didn’t have a lot of time to bask in the spotlight. There is no trip to Disney World or the Jay Leno Show planned. Instead, she was scheduled back on the court Wednesday night with her teammates for the beginning of the NCAA singles championships.
Embree was already in preparation mode when she called a reporter to talk about her memorable night. As soon as she hung up, she planned to take a nap before her singles match.
“Last night was an amazing experience and I’m glad we took home the trophy, and today I just have to refocus on another match and start all over.’’
Embree has watched highlights of the Gators’ victory and her gutsy, phenomenal and heroic performance. Some are already calling it one of the best comebacks in UF sports history in any sport.
It’s hard to argue that Embree’s effort is not at least near the top considering the circumstances and what was at stake. Afterward, Embree bubbled with excitement and shared the moment with her teammates at that little Italian restaurant.
A celebratory meal never tasted so good.
“You can’t go wrong with cheese pizza,’’ Embree said.
