UCLA
Saint Mary's
No. 13 UCLA Back Home to Face Saint Mary's
February 01, 2018 | Women's Tennis
The UCLA women's tennis looks to continue its early-season success with Saint Mary's paying a visit to Los Angeles Tennis Center Friday (1:30 p.m.). The Bruins bring a 3-0 record into their date with the Gaels, who dropped both of their ITA Kick-Off matches this past weekend. After being blanked by host No. 8 Texas Tech (Jan. 26), Saint Mary's rebounded to grab the doubles point against FIU a day later. After taking a 2-1 lead in the consolation match, the Gaels dropped the next three in singles play and fell to the Panthers, 4-2. Live stats from LATC will be available at uclalivestats.com/.
UCLA vs. SMC
The Bruins hold a 6-0 all-time mark against the Gaels, most recently defeating them as part of an early-season doubleheader last year (Feb. 4). After cruising to the doubles point with comfortable wins on Courts 1 and 2. After Alaina Miller and Jada Hart posted identical 6-0, 6-2 wins, Gabby Andrews clinched the match (7-5, 6-1) and Ena Shibahara finished simultaneously to finalize the 5-0 win.
Last Week
With Miller trailing 4-2 in a decisive third set at the Boone Tennis Complex in Lexington, Ky., the junior responded by taking four consecutive games over Northwestern's Alex Chatt in a winner-take-all decision that secured UCLA's berth to the ITA National Indoor Championships. The Bruins dropped the doubles point to the Wildcats, but quickly took the lead on straight-set wins by Shibahara and Ayan Broomfield. Northwestern captured the next two wins to retake the overall lead and put the pressure on UCLA's Court 5 and 6 players to come through. They did just that, as Abi Altick tallied a straight-set win to knot the match at three apiece, before Miller did the honor of clinching. In order to reach the final, the Bruins earned a 4-0 win over North Carolina State one day earlier, as Broomfield joined Terri Fleming in clinching the doubles point before later returning to record their clinching third singles decision.
Sampras Webster Wins No. 400
The Bruins' two wins in Kentucky represented a milestone for long-time UCLA head coach Stella Sampras Webster. Already the winningest coach in program history, the victories represented Nos. 399 and 400 for Sampras Webster, who improved her career record to 400-152 (.725). She has led the Bruins to two NCAA Championships in her 21 completed seasons. Her teams have also tallied four runner-up finishes. Prior to becoming head coach, Sampras Webster played four seasons at UCLA under predecessor Bill Zaima. Those teams recorded four straight NCAA top-three finishes, while she was named an All-American each of those seasons. Sampras Webster was inducted into the Southern California Tennis Association Hall of Fame in October.
UCLA in the ITA Rankings
The Bruins jumped from No. 16 to No. 13 in the latest Oracle/ITA National Team Rankings, released Jan. 31. UCLA is one of five Pac-12 teams listed in the poll, joined by No. 1 Stanford, No. 14 California, No. 20 Arizona State and No. 24 Washington. Five Bruins found themselves listed in the Nov. 15 singles rankings: No. 16 Shibahara, No. 46 Altick, No. 76 Miller, No. T100 Fleming and No. 119 Hart. The tandems of Hart-Shibahara (No. 7) and Andrews-Hart (No. 27) were recognized among the top doubles teams.
Fall Ball
Shibahara got the fall schedule started with a run to the final round of Oracle ITA Masters in September, where she finished as the runner-up in a talented field. At the Cal Fall Invitational later that month, Fleming defeated Altick for the ITA Blue singles championship, while Andrews and Wiley picked up the ITA Gold consolation title. Hart-Shibahara, meanwhile, was awarded the doubles consolation championship at the Riviera/ITA All-American Championships and Andrews-Hart won the doubles title at the ITA Regional Championships. In November, Altick made a run to the final round of the Jack Kramer Collegiate Tournament, where she fell in three sets. The Bruins recently swept the singles (Shibahara) and doubles (Hart-Shibahara) titles at the Freeman Memorial Championships in Las Vegas.
Who's Back?
UCLA returns its entire roster from the 2016-17 campaign, headlined by Shibahara. The sophomore was named an All-American in her first year and also garnered National and Regional Rookie of the Year, Pac-12 Singles Player of the Year and Pac-12 Newcomer/Freshman of the Year awards. The duo of Fleming and Hart, meanwhile, was named the Pac-12 Doubles Team of the Year. All three players also earned All-Pac-12 recognition (Shibahara - First Team; Hart - Second Team; Fleming - Honorable Mention). Andrews (10-10, 12-4), Miller (17-14, 16-10) and Wiley (10-17, 19-5) are also back, while Kelly Shaffer returns after redshirting in last season.
Who's New?
Freshmen Altick (Monroe, La./K12 International Academy) and Sophie Bendetti (Pacific Palisades, Calif./Oaks Christian School) join the Bruins, as does Clemson transfer Broomfield, who will be eligible to play immediately as a junior. The Toronto, ON, Canada native reached a season-best No. 40 in the Oracle/ITA singles rankings last season and posted a 19-15 overall record. She also tallied an 11-11 dual-match mark, playing primarily on Court 1.
Players Mentioned
