University of Georgia Athletics
Brinson Delivers Breakthrough Performance
October 27, 2015 | Women's Tennis
By John Frierson
UGAAA Staff Writer
Caroline Brinson kept the pressure on and kept her composure when things went awry. And in doing so the junior from New Orleans may have changed her Georgia women's tennis career.
"This has been kind of a long time coming for me," she said after perhaps the best match win of her career and certainly her finest tournament performance, one that guarantees her a spot in next month's National Indoors in New York.
Ranked No. 72 heading into the USTA/ITA Southeast Regional, hosted by Georgia, Brinson capped a stellar weekend of tennis Monday, knocking off her second top-6 player in three days. Facing sixth-ranked Stephanie Wagner of Miami, a hard-hitting baseliner, in the final, Brinson won with power, craftiness and resolve, prevailing 6-7 (2), 6-0, 6-4 at the Lindsey Hopkins Indoor Courts.
"I've been working really hard since I got here to improve on things and I didn't always see the results, including this past summer when I was playing a lot and was right there, close to getting big wins — but I didn't," she said. "I said to myself, just keep working and it will come eventually, and this weekend was really exciting for me because I saw a lot of that hard work pay off."
Brinson is used to winning, so in a sense what she did at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex from Friday-Monday, wasn't anything new. Last season she led the Bulldogs with 33 wins, posting an overall record of 33-8. In dual-match play Brinson led Georgia with 20 wins, going 20-4.
The difference is, she went 15-3 playing No. 6 singles and 5-1 at No. 5. She wasn't beating players the caliber of Wagner at No. 6. In fact, Brinson played Wagner in the round of 32 of the Southeast Regional last fall, losing 6-4, 6-2.
Along with the win over Wagner, Brinson also beat Florida's Josie Kuhlman, the No. 5-ranked player, in the semifinals. What Brinson did over the weekend, including a hard-fought three-set win over teammate Kennedy Shafer in the quarterfinals, was by no means out of nowhere, Georgia coach Jeff Wallace said.
"I'm really excited that she's had this breakthrough," Wallace said. "I actually told her mom before this tournament started that this could be a breakthrough weekend for her. She's been playing like this for a while now and you just need that opportunity, and she certainly took advantage of it."
Power players like Wagner like and benefit from pace coming back at them, so slugging it out from the baseline isn't always the best strategy. Brinson did some of that, but she also mixed in a lot of shots in the corners to get Wagner moving and some off-speed shots that got her off balance.
Among the shots she pulled out of the tool box Monday were a couple of well-timed drop shots. One came at 4-4 in the third set and Wagner serving at 30-15. Wagner sprinted up to get to the drop shot, but her return hit the top of the tape and fell back on the Hurricane's side. Brinson went on to break serve and then close out the match minutes later.
"Honestly, I was playing my game and trying to be aggressive, but at the same time I tried not to give her exactly what she wanted," she said. "I really never actually drop shot, so when I pulled out a couple of drop shots, the coaches were like, what is she doing? But it worked.
"I think that was a good game plan for me, to mix it up on her and just get her out of her comfort zone."
Don't expect the drop shot to now because a regular part of Brinson's repertoire.
"Let's be honest, it worked one time by an inch and another time by a quarter of an inch, so it wouldn't be my go-to play or what I'd want to see her do more than maybe two times the whole match," Wallace said. "Fortunately, it worked those two times in this situation."
Brinson had shown some nerves earlier in the match when serving in key situations. She served for the first set at 5-3 and was broken at love, and after a couple of breaks in the third set Wagner broke right back. But at the end, serving at 5-4 in the third, the nerves and more timid shots were replaced with confident strokes.
She said Wallace and associate head coach Drake Bernstein helped settle her down before the final game.
"Drake's really good about reminding me about those mental things and he told me, 'Remember: have fun, there's no pressure,' and I have to think that because I'm playing to win out here and I need to play aggressive and play my game," she said. "You always regret when you kind of step back and don't hit your shots, but when you really step up and play to win, that's when it ultimately feels best."
Brinson played to win and played like the Bulldog she and her coaches know she could be. And with this result comes high expectations and bigger goals for the season ahead.
"I think I've proven to myself what I can do, this weekend, and so that definitely raises my expectations of myself to a higher level," Brinson said. "I know I can play at this level and I'm going to work to sustain it and get even better."
John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: http://www.georgiadogs.com/ot/frierson-files.html. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
Players Mentioned
