College athletics is a multi-billion dollar business, but the day-to-day benefits are priceless.

We were reminded of that late Saturday night at the Mitchell Tennis Center as A&M's Anna Blagodarova and Texas' Stephanie Davison staged a memorable match during the Big 12 women's tournament.

Davison outlasted Blagodarova in a tiebreaker, giving the Longhorns a 4-3 victory over the Aggies. The battle between the two squads lasted 4 hours, 30 minutes.

Blagodarova was hurting so bad she could barely stand during the tiebreaker. She started cramping during the third set before miraculously rallying to take a 6-5 lead. But she was unable to put away Davison, who broke Blagodarova's serve and forced the tiebreaker.

With all eyes on Blagodarova, few noticed that Davison also had started to cramp during the tiebreaker.

Both players were in such pain that at one point they had to be told they weren't in the right spots to serve and receive.

Davison won because, if nothing more, she could still move. Blagodarova had a tough time just walking.

"I think Anna just hit [her cramps] a little earlier," A&M head coach Bobby Kleinecke said. "It really showed the heart that she had by getting up 6-5 earlier in the set. I'm very proud of the effort that she gave and the competitiveness that she showed."

The fans who stayed until the end saw as good a match as possible between two unranked players.

Early in the match, Davison was relentless in hitting deep, precise shots, moving Blagodarova from side to side. The gutsy Blagodarova somehow kept getting to those shots, grunting with each hit. Her returns would have had Davison shaking her head, if she would have had time.

Blagodarova simply refused to give in, to Davison or to her own body. Ironically, just 24 hours earlier she had pleaded unsuccessfully with Kleinecke to let her hit some practice balls after a 6-0, 6-0 loss in the quarterfinals. She was disgusted with how she had played.

Kleinecke smiled then at her dedication. Saturday night, he beamed about her effort, which was so special in part because of what Davison did.

It made for more than a customary handshake at the net between rival players. Davison cherished the moment but found smiling tough as she stared into Blagodarova's disappointed eyes.

"Stephanie is a classy competitor," Kleinecke said. "I'm proud of both of them."

Few will remember the match. It came on the weekend of the NFL Draft, when college's most well-known athletes become millionaires and national celebrities.

Luckily, whatever Blagodarova and Davison did to get ready for that match, they'll do it again and again in whatever professions they choose to pursue after college.

Then there will be many winners, not just one.

• Robert Cessna's e-mail address is robert.cessna@theeagle.com.