NCAA TENNIS ROUNDUP : UCLA’s Phebus Loses in Final

Georgia’s Angela Lettiere, who had thoughts of dropping out of the competition, beat Keri Phebus of UCLA, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2, Saturday to win the NCAA women’s tennis singles title at Athens, Ga.

Lettiere helped Georgia win the team title earlier in the week. “The day after the team tournament, I walked into the locker room and said, ‘Can I please pull out of the singles tournament?’ ” Lettiere said. “I was really hurting for a few days, and at first I didn’t think I was going to make it, but starting in the quarterfinals, I felt great.”

Lettiere completed her senior season with a 46-14 record and won the NCAA title without losing a set. She lost only 30 games in the tournament, second only to Florida’s Lisa Raymond, who dropped 23 in 1993. Phebus, a sophomore who was unseeded, completed her season with a 32-8 record.

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Defending champion USC, seeded No. 1, advanced to the second round of the NCAA men’s tennis championships with a 4-0 victory over Princeton at South Bend, Ind. Joining the USC in the second round were Mississippi State and Texas.