UCLA
Fresno State
No. 9 UCLA Hosts Fresno State, California
February 22, 2018 | Women's Tennis
The No. 9 UCLA women's tennis team welcomes Fresno State to Los Angeles Tennis Center Friday (1:30 p.m.), in the first half of a doubleheader with the Bruins' men's tennis team. The women's team will return to action a day later when No. 34 California drops in for a noon Saturday showdown. Up-to-the-minute stats from both matches will be available at uclalivestats.com.
UCLA vs. Fresno State/Cal
UCLA holds a 13-2 all-time record against Fresno State. The Bruins last faced off with the Bulldogs during the 2015-16 season, when they split a pair of matches. Fresno State captured an early-season matchup at LATC, 4-3, that served as the final of the UCLA-hosted ITA Kick-Off Weekend (Jan. 24, 2016). Just short of two months later, the Bruins dropped the first two points to the Bulldogs at LATC before responding with five straight singles wins to secure the overall victory. UCLA, meanwhile, holds a 41-35 record against Pac-12 rival Cal. Last year, the teams split two decisions. Cal cruised to a 6-1 home win (Feb. 24), before the Bruins went the distance with the visiting Golden Bears before winning, 4-3, at home (March 11).
Last Week
The then-No. 10 UCLA women's tennis team made its return from the ITA Team Indoor Championships Feb. 16, toppling visiting Loyola Marymount, 4-0, at Los Angeles Tennis Center. It was a big day for juniors Gabby Andrews and Ayan Broomfield, who teamed for a comeback win in doubles play before they provided the third and fourth points for UCLA (6-2) on the singles courts, respectively. After trailing 3-5 on Court 1, Andrews and Broomfield forced a tiebreak that they secured with four of the final five points. Broomfield went on to post a straight-set win over Siobhan Anderson on Court 3, 6-2, 6-3.
Ayan the Decider
Broomfield, who joined the Bruins as a transfer from Clemson in August, has clinched three Bruin victories this season. The junior topped then-No. 61 Claudia Wiktorin of North Carolina State, 6-3, 6-3, to secure UCLA's first ITA Kick-Off Weekend decision (Jan. 26). She also notched deciding wins against Kareena Manji of Saint Mary's, 6-1, 6-4 (Feb. 2), and Anderson of LMU (Feb. 16). She has also teamed with Andrews to secure a pair of doubles points.
Hart Named Pac-12 Player of the Week
For her efforts during ITA Indoors, Jada Hart was named Pac-12 Player of the Week, the conference announced Feb. 13. 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 then-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 then-No. 11 Alexa Bortles and Arianne Hartono in doubles, 6-3, to clinch another doubles point. The honor marked the third of Hart's career and the 20th all-time nod for UCLA.
UCLA Rises to No. 9
Off to a 6-2 start, UCLA was elevated to No. 9 in the Oracle/ITA team rankings Tuesday. The Bruins previously checked in at No. 10 following the ITA Team Indoor Championships. UCLA is the highest-ranked Pac-12 school, and one of three in the Top 25 (Oregon โ No. 17, Arizona State โ No. 22). The Bruins were last slotted among the top nine teams just under a year ago, when they were ranked No. 9 in the Feb. 21, 2017 installment.
Seven Bruins Ranked
Thanks to their early-season dual-match success, five Bruins are ranked among Oracle/ITA's Top 100 singles players, announced Tuesday. Shibahara is tops among them, as the sophomore sits at No. 11. Freshman Abi Altick, meanwhile, is at No. 40. Hart is slotted at No. 59, while Terri Fleming is up a spot to No. 73. Alaina Miller rounds out the list of UCLA singles players in the rankings at No. 99. The doubles list features four Bruin tandems. The team of Hart and Shibahara checks in at No. 5 to lead the way. Andrews-Broomfield comes in at No. 24, while Andrews-Hart is No. 30 and Fleming-Hart is No. 38.
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 403-154 (.724). 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.
Sampras Webster to Speak Thursday
Sampras Webster will speak Thursday as part of The Positive Sports Parent Series. Hosted by the Positive Coaching Alliance-Los Angeles (PCA), Sampras Webster will be joined by USC men's tennis head coach Peter Smith and PCA National Director of Training Ruben Nieves. For more information, click HERE.
Players Mentioned
