UCLA
Loyola Marymount
UCLA Welcomes LMU for Friday Dual Match
February 15, 2018 | Women's Tennis
Fresh off its trip to the ITA Team Indoor Championships, the No. 10 UCLA women's tennis team is back home to face local foe Loyola Marymount Friday. Play from Los Angeles Tennis Center begins at 1:30 p.m. and live stats will be available at uclalivestats.com. The Bruins bring an unblemished 4-0 home record into their match against the Lions.
UCLA vs. Loyola Marymount
UCLA holds a 23-0 all-time record against LMU. In last year's season opener, which was pushed back and relocated due to rain, the No. 25 Bruins earned a 5-2 win over the Lions (Jan. 21). UCLA earned the doubles point and ran off four straight singles victories (including the clincher by Kristin Wiley) before LMU broke through with its first win. In Ena Shibahara's collegiate debut, she joined fellow newcomer Jada Hart in securing the doubles point before registering a straight-set win over Jessica Perez on the top court.
Last Week
The Bruins split two consolation matches after falling to then-No. 8 Texas Tech in their ITA Indoors first-round match. On Day 1, the Bruins were able to force a 2-2 tie after dropping the doubles point and the first singles match, but the Lady Raiders ultimately captured the 4-2 decision. One day later, it was UCLA that picked up the first two points of the day before then-No. 16 Ole Miss took the next three singles matches en route to a 4-3 win. Sunday, the Bruins picked up their first win of the trip, dispatching then-No. 19 South Carolina, 4-1. The duo of Terri Fleming and Jada Hart won a tiebreaker to clinch the doubles point on Court 1, before Shibahara topped fellow Oracle/ITA ranked player Mia Horvit in straight sets.
Hart Named Pac-12 Player of the Week
For her efforts during ITA Indoors, Hart was named Pac-12 Player of the Week Tuesday, the conference announced. Hart had two singles victories for the Bruins at Indoors and helped UCLA to its big consolation win over then-No. 19 South Carolina following two narrow defeats. Not only did Hart join Terri Fleming in clinching the doubles point against the Gamecocks, but the redshirt sophomore knocked off No. 38 Hadley Berg, 6-4, 6-0, to put the Bruins within one win of victory. Against Ole Miss, Hart topped Natalie Suk, 6-2, 6-2, in singles play, and she and Fleming upset No. 11 Alexa Bortles and Arianne Hartono in doubles, 6-3, to clinch another doubles point. The honor marks the second of Hart's career and the 19th all-time nod for UCLA.
UCLA into Top 10
Off to a 5-2 start, UCLA was elevated to No. 10 in the Oracle/ITA team rankings Wednesday. They previously checked in at No. 13 following ITA Kick-Off Weekend. The Bruins are one of two Pac-12 schools ranked in the Top 10 (Stanford โ No. 7), and one of six in the Top 25 (Stanford, California โ No. 15, Arizona State โ No. 20, Washington โ No. 22 and Oregon โ No. T24). The Bruins were last slotted in the Top 10 just under a year ago, when they were ranked No. 9 in the Feb. 21, 2017 installment.
Seven Bruins Ranked
Thanks to its early-season dual-match success, UCLA has six players ranked among Oracle/ITA's Top 100, announced Wednesday. Shibahara is tops among them, as the sophomore moved up from No. 16 to No. 12. Freshman Abi Altick, meanwhile, jumped from No. 46 to No. 31. A winner of two Court 1 matches, Jada Hart is up to No. 57 from No. 119. Terri Fleming is up to No. 74 from No. 100, while Alaina Miller is in at No. 93 and Ayan Broomfield is into the rankings at No. 94 with wins in each of her four singles matches. The doubles rankings, meanwhile, feature a pair of Bruin tandems. The team of Hart and Shibahara moves up to No. 4 from No. 7, while the duo of Andrews and Hart is up two spots to No. 25.
Sampras Webster Wins No. 400
The Bruins' two ITA Kick-Off 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 now holds a record of 402-154 (.723). 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.
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.
Players Mentioned
