Stanford’s McGrath Wins in Tiebreaker : College tennis: Freshman prevails after USC’s Laux rallies from 2-5 deficit in second set.

Stanford’s Meredith McGrath held off Trisha Laux of USC, 6-2, 7-6 (8-6), to win the women’s singles title in an invitational tournament at the Shadow Mountain Resort and Racquet Club Sunday.

Down a set, Laux, who had rallied from a 2-5 deficit, was serving at 6-5 with a chance to send the match to a third set. However, McGrath, displaying a strong backhand, hit a passing shot to force a tiebreaker.

“At the beginning of the tiebreaker, I though I was in really good shape,” the second-seeded McGrath said. “After she came back, I knew I had to start playing aggressively.”

McGrath, a freshman who reached the U.S. Open mixed doubles final last year, broke Laux’s serve early and dominated the first set. However, she was unable to dominate the second.

Laux, a junior, opened the second set by breaking McGrath’s serve and was up, 2-0. McGrath then won the next five games before Laux won four in a row.

“I just tried to be more patient and force her more,” Laux said. “I warmed up as the match went on, (but) not fast enough.”

In the men’s final, unseeded Conny Falk of Miami (Fla.) defeated top-seeded Jonathan Stark of Stanford, 6-3, 6-2.

Falk, playing an aggressive baseline game, broke Stark in the fifth game of the first set. After each held his serve, Falk closed out the first set when Stark double-faulted in the ninth game.

“My game wasn’t very sharp today,” said Stark, who along with partner Alex O’Brien lost in the semifinals of the doubles. “The pressure of being top ranked got to me.”

The second set was much like the first, as Falk broke Stark twice. After breaking Stark in the sixth game, Falk won the next game at love to go up, 5-2.

“I hadn’t been playing well, except this tournament,” Falk said. “This was the first time I had felt good.”

Stanford’s third-seeded team of Sandra Birch and Debbie Graham defeated top-seeded Mamie Ceniza and Stella Sampras of UCLA, 6-1, 6-3, for the women’s doubles title. USC’s Byron Black and Kent Seton beat Shige Kanroji and Trevor Kronemann of UC Irvine, 1-6, 6-1, 6-3, in the men’s doubles.