Sato Delivers Huskies To Upset Of No. 9 Vanderbilt

SEATTLE HOSTS THE ITA NATIONAL TEAM INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS

Nordstrom Tennis Center and Seattle Tennis Club

Sunday, Feb. 12

Washington vs. (4) Duke, 6:30 p.m., Nordstrom

Live Match Coverage

SEATTLE – Senior Hikaru Sato believed she was better than anyone. Until she finally won her match, and then she couldn’t believe the result. But the Huskies and their fans in the Nordstrom Tennis Center were believers after a 4-3 upset of 9th-ranked Vanderbilt at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships, finally ended near 11 p.m. by Sato in an 8-6 third-set tiebreaker.

 

“I can’t believe it,” said Sato, the native of Tokyo, who is playing No. 1 singles for the Huskies for the first time this year. “During the match, I believed that I can win, that I’m better than anyone. But right after match point, I thought what is this? It’s a dream? But I think the biggest thing for me to win was my belief in myself that I was better than anyone. Also, when I looked behind me, there were so many U-Dub fans, and I knew if I won it’s going to be the best, and it was the best.”

Come for match point of a Top-10 win … stay for Hika congratulating every member of Vanderbilt and the ???? and ?? ??#GoHuskies pic.twitter.com/s8WgMthfPO

— Washington Women’s Tennis (@UW_WTennis) February 12, 2023

 
Washington was hoping for just such a win with the opportunity to host the elite national tournament, with fifteen of the top-17 nationally ranked teams coming to Seattle. UW fell on Friday to No. 1 Texas, but took advantage of another top-10 match-up in the back draw tonight. Tomorrow the Huskies have another marquee opponent in No. 4 Duke at 6:30 p.m. in the Nordstrom to finish their tourney run.
 
After wins in singles from Erika Matsuda, Astrid Olsen, and another marathon win from Jennifer Kerr had the match at 3-3, it came down to Sato and Celia-Belle Mohr at the No. 1 spot. Mohr, ranked 34th nationally, won the first set, 6-2, but Sato responded with a 6-2 second set win. Mohr retook control of the match, however, getting out to a 4-1 lead in the third, but Sato broke back and got even at 4-4. She went up for the first time at 6-5, and that game went to a deciding point that would have ended it there, but Mohr saved it…