UCLA’s Phebus Upsets No. 1 Player, Has Shot at NCAA Tennis Title Today

ATHENS, Ga. — Unseeded Keri Phebus of UCLA upset top-seeded Laxmi Poruri of Stanford, 6-3, 1-6, 6-3, Friday to advance to the singles final of the NCAA women’s tennis championships.

Phebus, beating her Pacific 10 rival for the first time, will play No. 3 Angela Lettiere of Georgia in today’s championship match. Lettiere defeated Mississippi’s Paloma Collantes for the third time this year in the other semifinal, 7-6 (8-6), 6-1.

With the title match between a Pac-10 and Southeastern Conference player, the NCAA champion will come from one of those two conferences for the 13th consecutive year. The Pac-10 has won eight titles, the SEC four.

Phebus (32-7) carries a seven-match winning streak into the final.

“A lot of people have doubted my ability and I always seem to be seeded lower,” Phebus said. “This was more of a battle from within. I wanted this for myself. I didn’t want to get too wrapped up in what everybody else has been expecting from me.”