OJAI — Bruna Magalhaes of SBCC rallied from a 6-5 second-set deficit to claim the Community College State women‘s tennis singles championship on a warm Sunday at the Ojai Tournament.
Magalhaes, the No. 1 seed, beat No. 2 Sarah Anderson of Fullerton 6-2, 7-6 (1) at quaint and historic Libbey Park. It’s the first state singles title for an SBCC tennis player.
“I feel very proud,” said Magalhaes, a freshman from Brazil. “I’ve been working hard to win this tournament. I’m very happy right now. Exhausted, but happy.
“I was a little nervous in the first set. I just had to put my mind with my tennis. In the second set, she knew what she had to do when she was down 5-3.”
Anderson, a left-hander who went on win the State doubles title with Victoria Vo, took three straight games in the second set to take a 6-5 lead.
Magalhaes won her serve to force a tiebreaker. She dominated in the tiebreaker, taking the first three points on her way to a 7-1 victory.
“I tried to put all the balls in (during the tiebreaker) and attack her,” said Magalhaes. “If I find a university that’s offering me a scholarship, I’ll go there. But I’d love to stay at Santa Barbara City College. They helped me a lot and my coach helped me so much.”
Magalhaes built a 4-2 lead in the first set and then broke Anderson’s serve at love with two forehand winners to make it 5-2.
“I feel very fortunate to have a player like Bruna,” said coach Ken Thomas. “There’s a lot of intangibles about her. She’s got a big heart and she does everything that I can’t coach. She works hard every point, she fights and she has guts.”
Magalhaes won six matches over four days at the State Tournament to complete a perfect 19-0 season. Going into Sunday’s match, she had won 61 games against California’s best players while losing just 11.
“She hung in there mentally,” said Thomas. “She didn’t give away a lot of easy points. Her forehand looked good as always, especially on the short balls. The best thing you can do in a tiebreak is to get a lead and that’s what she did.
“This is a good day, not only for Bru and the SBCC women’s tennis program but also for the Santa Barbara City College athletic department. It was a good day, all around.“
