No one knew when the rain began. It did not matter. The only thing of import was when it would end - this thought, and this thought only, traversed the worried minds of the Bruins waiting in the team room Sunday morning. Coach Grant Chen, who had just flew in the night before from the UCLA Men's Varsity match at Baylor, paced the room while UCLA Club President Mark Otten and Vice Jason Siu attempted to decipher when the depressed drizzling would end. Four female members of Bruin Blue - Kelly Iwanabe, Nicole Aponte, External Activities Coordinator Emily Watt, and Historian/Website Administrator Adeline Yang - milled about during the 7:40 AM rain delay, energizing themselves with a light breakfast of granola, bagels, and juice. Officer Tanuj Thapliyal arrived shortly thereafter, ready for duty. Southern California Tennis Association (SCTA) coordinators Linda and Elayne also roamed about as the dreary weather persisted well into the morning and aggravated fears of having to postpone the Southern California Regional Championships by two weeks.

      Luckily the skies cleared their sinuses soon after 8:40 AM and the Bruins set to work. With seven squeegees in hand Mark, Jason, Kelly, Emily, Nicole, and Tanuj began to clear away the massive accumulation of moisture and prolific puddles spread over all the courts. Two fans, both more than thirty inches in diameter, were propped up on Courts 1 and 2 to facilitate air-drying. Adeline, along with Internal Coordinator Evan Liu (who arrived shortly after the rain ceased), carefully used modified air-blowers resembling lawn mowers to fully dry the white baselines of each court.

      By 9:45 AM members of Bruin Blue began warming up for their 10:30 match against USC Cardinal. The remaining universities, who had been notified earlier that morning about the wet condition of LATC, slowly trickled in and watched as additional members of the Bruin squad - Emily Wu, Chikako Shimura, Janis Hui, Ricky Wu and Christina Chang, to name a few - continued drying courts 3, 5, and 6. The morning had begun in a dismal state - none of the eight courts were anywhere near being prepared for usage - but with hours of hard labor and dedicated efficiency Bruin Brawn overcame the odds and set the Regional Championships back on track.

      Following the upsetting start on Saturday against USC Gold, UCLA Blue prepared itself to fight tooth and nail against USC Cardinal to avenge the previous day's mishaps. Women's doubles' dynamic duo of Iwanabe and Alyssa Chen set the tone for the match, winning the first point for Blue. Men's doubles team Pat Williams and Andre Michelin aggressively sought, and attained, UCLA Blue's second point against the Cardinals. Women's singles Yang struggled against USC, eliciting Coach Grant's decision to sub in Iwanabe at 0-3; unfortunately, the set was lost. Ross Newman, playing for UCLA Men's singles, took the fourth point, and mixed doubles' Spencer Cohen and Alyssa Chen clenched victory for Bruin Blue.

      In LATC stadium, Bruin Gold took on the challenging UCI team shortly before Blue's match concluded. Men's doubles (Mark Otten and Ricky Wu) gave Bruin Gold an early lead, winning their first set. Women's doubles (Janis Hui and Chikako Shimura) rushed in to cement the lead winning their match 6-2 to push the Bruins ahead 2-0 against the Anteaters. Singles' Emily Wu and John Siefke furthered the lead, winning both their sets with relative ease. Nick DeGoede and Alana Pfeffinger conclusively won their match as well, catapulting Bruin Gold into the Championship semifinals.

      Then came the moment all had been waiting for: UCLA Blue's long anticipated rematch against USC Gold. The Bruins rallied together in the team room, encouraging one another and doing their utmost best to prepare for the thrilling battle ahead.

      Men's doubles took to the court first, intent on displaying marked aggression up at net and a solid strategy focused on utilizing fore-court advantages. After a strong start, however, Bruin Blue began to hesitate at 2-2 and lost momentum, dropping the set 2-6. Women's doubles faced a similar dilemma and had difficulty re-establishing their rhythm after a run to 2-3; Iwanabe and Chen, too, lost the set 2-6. Similarly men's singles' Ross Newman could not find firm ground and surrendered the set 0-6. Going against the same player she faced the day before, much like her team mates, Yang looked across the net at a familiarly challenging face.

      Coach Grant, however, had devised a different strategy against this particular player. The sole goal was to keep the ball in - regardless of how it was done. Yang took the first game after a long struggle that would set the pace for the remainder of the match - a distinctly different experience from the previous day's 0-4 destruction. In what was perhaps one of the longer and indisputably slowest matches of the day Yang succumbed 3-6.

      Once again all eyes were on the freshman duo of Spencer Cohen and Alyssa Chen. Embodying perhaps one of the greatest displays of Bruin prowess, Chen and Cohen sprinted the whole nine yards - leading UCLA Blue to its first 6-0 set against USC Gold. The duo extended their winning streak to 7-0, causing noticeable USC anxiety, and forcing the USC Coach to substitute in single's player Matt Black to end Bruin Blue's run, 7-1. Despite having lost our chance at finishing as finalists as well as champions, Bruin Blue remained ecstatic about UCLA's opportunities at Nationals and hurried over from Center Court to the back, where UCLA Gold was playing UCSD's top team.

      Coach Grant retained the morning's lineup against a revitalized UCSD team that had high hopes of walking away with the Championship title for the first time. UCLA Gold men's doubles could not quite outpace the Titans, allowing them their first set. Women's doubles, however, was an entirely different story as Hui and Chikako attained another victory. The battle for men's singles domination became an impressive display of speed and consistency, flexibility and durability, as Siefke roared back from an early deficit to win his match 6-2 with momentous effort and determination. Women's singles player Wu hit a similar wall and scrambled to regain composure throughout the latter portion of her set. Coach Grant, sensing the upcoming explosion and unsure of its outcome, decided to substitute in double's staple Janis Hui at 3-3, 15-40. Having been out cold for awhile, and not given the opportunity or time to warm up, Hui nonetheless held strong and ended the match 4-6.

      Thus extreme pressure was placed on the mixed doubles team of De Goede and Pfeffinger. Both UCLA and UCSD players and coaches were tense; the match was exceptionally close. Only a definitive win in mixed could ensure UCLA Gold's victory over UCSD and secession to the Finals. Initially the match progressed fairly smoothly and cordially as both teams sought to establish themselves within the set. At a crucial break in De Goede's serve (3-2 in games, 40-40), the female UCSD player called his serve out. Her partner's return of service, a weak floater in the service box, was over-headed by Nick for a clear winner. Seeking verification of the girl's call from the referee, De Goede successfully had her call overturned and the point was awarded to UCLA.

      UCSD argued vehemently that the point was to be replayed, since the miscall had been off a first serve, causing the referee to hesitate. UCLA Team Manager Anthony Horsley and Team Coach Grant Chen simultaneously sped towards the scene of contest as SCTA Coordinator Linda arrived as well. The verbal battle raged ferociously among UCLA representatives Chen and Horsley against the two UCSD players and their coach while Linda and the referee debated in the midst. After what seemed like an eternity, Linda and Chen decided to consult the official source of regulations to settle this dispute. The mixed players, in the meanwhile, began hitting with their partners to keep warm.

      Another eon passed before the final ruling arrived: "Players whose calls are overturned are expected to graciously forfeit the point for their err in judgement" (paraphrased). This regulation was consistent with common USTA Junior Open rulings; as punishment for being caught "cheating" by the referee overturning a call, players were expected to follow the ethics code and concede the point. In this particular case, not only had the call been badly made, but a floater return had been hit and an obvious winner (overhead) had been its clearly successful retaliation. It was, in effect, a double-confirmation of victory. De Goede and Pfeffinger, ready and eager to finally get on with their match, put away UCSD's hopes for the Regional Finals by subsequently winning their set 6-2. Bruin Gold thereby advanced to the finals against USC Gold.

      In a surprise move Coach Grant substituted doubles pillar De Goede in for Otten, placing him alongside freshman Ricky Wu against USC Gold's men's doubles. The powerhouse team, complete with huge serves, torpedo-groundies and rapacious netplay, crushed their over-confident USC counterparts in an awe-inspiring first set win (6-2) for the Bruins. Women's Gold (Hui and Shimura) also did more than just hold their ground; they uprooted USC from their comfortable perches and threw the Trojans onto their backs. However, a strong push from the Trojans late in the set unsettled the Golden duo and upset their tempo, causing them to drop their set 4-6. Then, infamous Trojan Matt Black began his match against Bruin John Siefke in what would turn out to be one of the most dramatic matches of the night.

      Coming from a relatively unchallenged singles run Black was soon unnerved by Siefke's persistance and maneuverability. Behemothic groundies bellowed across both sides of the courts in impossible angles and with variegated style. Monstrous cross-court rallies would suddenly be interrupted by the slyly placed drop-shot, or thrown off-rhythm by the intentional high lob; groundstrokes that rocketed off the ground with excessive topspin would suddenly be replaced by ground-hugging slices that begged to be kept out of reach.

      Alyssa Chen and Alana Pfeffinger, returning from fetching warmer clothing in the team room, were quietly walking across the stands roughly twenty feet away from Center Court, where Black was serving. He glared at the girls as they ascended the steps, refusing to commence service until they were well off. The second time they crossed during his service, he loudly commanded, "Stop walking in the stands." Chen, frozen in time, suddenly came to and rushed towards the mass of Bruin fans on the opposite side.

      Women's Single's Emily Wu, in the meanwhile, was busy obliterating her opponent. USC used an as-of-then unseen player, to no avail. Displaying a degree of frustration and maturity in sync with Black's, USC's Sheena flaunted a similarly off-putting attitude. After displacing a ball onto Court 3, adjacent to where she competed, Sheena asked the referee if she was allowed to leave the court.

      "This isn't Junior tennis," Black retorted. Misdirecting her fury, Sheena glared in the direction of the Bruins (who had aggregated into an impressive mass on the side of the stadium directly opposing the sparse USC scattering) and demanded, "What? I can't hear you. Speak LOUDER."

      Black had no choice but to reply, "Uh. That was me." This classic moment of humility, witnessed by more than twenty Bruins situated throughout the stadium, brought a smile and loud laughs to all. To make matters even better, Sheena once again misplaced the comment into the Bruin stands and demanded the referee "make sure they [the Bruins] speak to you next time, rather than directly to me," recalls Mark Otten.

      With a piercing scream after losing a difficult point, Emily slapped a high lob into the LATC patio where SCTA representative Linda was positioned and was smacked with a point penalty and warning. Coming off this letdown Wu maneuvered a four-point streak that ended with a massive lob that brushed the stars and blinded Sheena with its celestial presence. After winning this crucial game Emily ferociously pumped her fists and bellowed a ruthless "COME ON!!" as cries of "Yea, Vicious, YEA!" were heard from the stadium. Suffice to say, Emily Wu quickly took Sheena off the courts in a 6-3 victory for the Bruins. Immediately after her win, Wu led the cheering UCLA crowd in a thunderous eight-clap that even the curious group of forty-plus bystanders in the stadium periphery participated in.

      Siefke, after a vigorous battle, succumbed to Black 3-6. He did, however, pave the way for Bruin Gold's mixed doubles team. After gaining momentum in the third game, the Bruins quickly accelerated their game against the weakening Trojans and in a fierce tennis war overcame their opposition (Jackie and Matt) 6-4. Immediately upon the conclusion of the match, while Matt Black obliterated another one of his rackets on the ground, all the Bruins rushed onto the court screaming and yelling in fearsome adulation for their fourth consecutive championship and fourth consecutive victory over their cross-town rivals.

      Both teams received a stipend for expenses (the Champions' being the larger of the two) and automatic entry into Nationals in North Carolina this April. Thus it shall begin anew - a new arena, a different atmosphere, and the same electrifyingly extraordinary tennis.