Amber Liu of Stanford put a stop to what appeared to be Fresno State freshman Jelena Pandzic's inevitable run to the NCAA Singles title on Saturday afternoon with a 6-4, 0-6, 6-3 victory over the Fresno State freshman at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga.
The victory gives Liu her second NCAA title in a row and served as a bookend to what has been a fantastic week for the No. 4 seed from La Mesa, Calif. Just six days ago, the Cardinal's top singles player helped lead her team to an NCAA team title over UCLA.
Liu became the fourth Stanford player in the last five years to win the national championship and the first to repeat since former Cardinal Laura Granville in 2000 and '01.
"This court has been very good to me this week," Liu said after the match. "This has been quite a week."
Pandzic, the tournament's No. 3 seed who had lost only 23 games in her previous five NCAA matches, fell into trouble right away in an unconventional manner. Down 1-0 and serving, Pandzic was called for four foot faults in the deuce court for having her right (back) foot start on the ad side of the hash mark before she served. Unnerved, Pandzic's committed three double faults in that opening service game and fell behind 2-0.
It was the first time Pandzic said she had that type of foot fault called in her career. The NCAA Singles Tournament semifinals and finals are the only matches of the spring season to feature a full complement of referees who call all lines and foot faults. Normally, players call their own lines, and foot faults are very rare. She was not called for a foot fault in yesterday's semifinal match.
Pandzic never fully regrouped in the first set, falling behind 5-2 before making a brief charge to bring the lead down to 5-4. But Liu broke Pandzic's serve to claim the first set 6-4 in 40 minutes.
But mysteriously, Liu's game suddenly vanished while Pandzic picked her's up. As the Fresno State standout improved her consistency, Liu sprayed balls wildly all over the court. Pandzic broke in the first game and simply cruised, winning the second set 6-0. It appeared at that moment Pandzic had rebounded from just her fifth lost set of the entire season.