After deciding to compete in the USTA National Open on a whim, women’s tennis player Taylor Ng ’17 captured the indoor singles title and placed in both women’s and mixed doubles.
Ng defeated multiple seeded opponents to place first in the tournament, hosted in late December at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y. Ng and Katherine Yau ’16 competed as a team in the women’s doubles division, earning an admirable third place finish. Ng also competed in the mixed doubles division with Max Schmidt ’17, placing second. The tournament was open to all levels of competitors, including high school, college and professional players.
After defeating an unseeded opponent in the first round 6-0, 6-0, Ng took down five seeded participants in a row including the fourth, fifth and sixth seeds on her way to the title.
Ng dispatched her first five opponents in straight sets with only the final going the maximum three sets. In the semifinals, Ng was matched against the 14th seed Jessica Golovin and prevailed by a score 6-3, 6-2.
The match was closer than the score indicates, Ng said. “We had a lot of very close games and my opponent didn’t get tired. She could hit angles off of any balls that I gave her.”
Ng entered the finals as an underdog against the sixth seeded Ariana Rodriguez, a high school senior and University of Louisville recruit. Both finalists competed in all three divisions at the tournament, playing a combined 31 games in four days.
“The finals match was probably the hardest match I’ve ever played physically,” Ng said. “And it was very similar for my opponent.”
The first set drew even more out of the players, going to a tiebreaker that Ng managed to win narrowly. On the verge of a tournament victory, Ng could not immediately seal the deal, dropping a set to the resilient Rodriguez by a 6-4 score.
After a few marathon days of tennis, Ng’s chances, for the first time all week, came down to the final set. Ng managed to complete the upset and win the tournament, defeating Rodriguez 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-2.
“It was nice to have that meeting in the final because there wasn’t an overwhelming advantage for either player,” Ng said, adding that Rodriguez had improved since the two played last summer.
Women’s tennis head coach Bob Dallis, who happened to be in the area visiting family and watching recruits, managed to catch some of his players’ matches. Their performances impressed him, he said, and was glad the players competed.
“Any time you can get out and compete and play matches, whether its singles, doubles, or mixed doubles, that stuff is invaluable,” Dallis said.
The Dartmouth players surprised in the doubles categories as well, reaching at least the semifinals in women’s and mixed doubles, despite entering the tournament unseeded. Ng and Yau performed well as a doubles team, losing their only match to the No. 1 seed and eventual champions, Julia Elbaba and Rachel Pierson from the University of Virginia. The three other semifinalists were the top three seeded teams.
“We pretty much meshed the first match together,” Ng said. “It was good to get several matches under our belts heading into the season.”
Dallis said he was impressed with Ng and Yau’s work as a pair. Yau was positive and vocal throughout the game, and the pair played new formations they had been working on in the fall, he said.
Yau and Ng are ranked eighth in the ITA Northeast Region in women’s doubles and 57th in the nation. Jacqueline Crawford ’17 is ranked third in the Northeast in women’s singles, with Ng and Yau at fifth and 12th respectively.
The Big Green next takes the court Jan. 25 at Boston College, a non-conference battle.
