“One of our coaches, Debbie [Goldfine] was on my court,” Gridley said. “She was telling me to have really big targets, be willing to hit as many balls it takes to win every point, and not give away any free points.”

In the second set Gridley had more difficulty, as her opponent freshman Lauren Bridges started being more assertive.

“[Bridges] was being more aggressive in the second set stepping up,” Gridley said. “I tend to hit many high balls, and she was stepping up and taking them on the rise more, and was hitting them flatter. I think that I was also getting more impatient in the second set, trying to finish off points too early and trying to hit flat winners when I wasn’t in position to do so.”

With the set tied at four, Gridley decided to go back to her original game plan before closing out the set, 6-4.

“When it got to 4-all, I just tried to go back to my game plan in the first set and be really consistent,” Gridley said. “Hit the big targets, mix up high balls and low slices to try to force an error out of [Bridges] ... that helped me play more patiently the last two games and close out the set.”

At No. 1 singles Cao ended up losing her match, 7-5, 6-2, resulting in a 6-1 Crimson win.

“I think we came out trying to treat this match like any other Ivy match,” Gridley said. “They are all important.”