As Tracy Lin battled for and won the final point of her singles match against USC on Friday afternoon, she clinched perhaps the biggest win in the team’s history.

For the first time in 22 years in the conference, the UCLA women’s tennis team earned at least a share of the Pac-10 championship, splitting the 2008 title with Stanford.

“There’s been a lot of anticipation for this day because we had a lot going for us,” UCLA coach Stella Sampras Webster said. “I think everyone was really excited coming in, and now we’re just enjoying it.”

The Bruins defeated the Trojans for the second time this season by a score of 5-2. It was their first sweep of USC since 2000.

Taking the courts in all black uniforms on senior day to begin the match, UCLA was looking to black out USC from the start.

However, the Trojans kept the match close in both doubles play and the beginning of singles play, keeping Sampras Webster on her feet.

“In the beginning, I know the back courts were struggling – got off to some bad starts,” she said. “I knew it could go either way, and luckily it went our way.”

The Bruins needed just two more wins after freshman Andrea Remynse, who is currently ranked 59th in the nation, rolled over USC’s Sarah Fansler 6-1, 6-1 in a hurry.

Senior Alex McGoodwin, who was expected to graduate last year, returned to the team after being granted a redshirt by the NCAA due to a medical hardship, trailed in her second set after winning the first but forced a tie-breaker against Cristala Andrews.

After fighting off one match point at 5-6, Andrews finally caved and hit a shot wide on McGoodwin’s next match point, giving the Bruins a 3-1 lead to set the stage for Lin’s 6-4, 6-2 Pac-10-clinching match.

“This is just proving my decision is the right one,” McGoodwin said after the match. “It felt great because I haven’t gotten to play much this year, so every time I get the chance, it means a lot, and I try to get the win.”

Though UCLA had goals of going undefeated when the season first started, those goals were quickly adjusted and revamped due to a series of injuries to several of the Bruins’ top players, including McGoodwin, Remynse and sophomore Yasmin Schnack, who did not play on Friday due to a stomach virus.

However, the Bruins hope to have a healthy lineup as they enter postseason play in the next few weeks and attempt to reach the NCAA championship match for the second straight season, seeking victory this time around.

“It feels really good because, although we haven’t had a perfect record this season, it’s nice to get that accomplishment, and it brings us one step closer to our final goal of winning NCAAs,” Lin said.

SENIORS HONORED: Before the match, Lin, Elizabeth Lumpkin, McGoodwin and Riza Zalameda were honored for their accomplishments as members of the tennis team.

The class is one of the biggest UCLA has had in quite some time and will be one of the hardest for Sampras Webster to replace.

“It’s great to have them here, but I know I’ll only have them for another month,” Sampras Webster said. “We’re hoping to recruit players like these four; they have been great role models for this program. They’re first-class people, and they’re going to be missed tremendously next year.”