UCLA
Washington State
UCLA to Host Washington State, Washington
March 23, 2018 | Women's Tennis
The No. 13 UCLA women's tennis team welcomes No. 39 Washington State and No. 47 Washington to Los Angeles Tennis Center this weekend as winners of two straight in Pac-12 play. The Bruins will square off with the Cougars Saturday, with the Huskies coming in Sunday. First serve is scheduled for noon each day. Live stats will be available at uclalivestats.com.
UCLA VS. WASHINGTON STATE/WASHINGTON
The Bruins hold an all-time mark of 23-1 versus the Cougars. Washington State hosted the teams' 2017 meeting, which UCLA captured by a 6-1 score (April 2). Holding a 3-1 lead at the Simmelink Tennis Courts, the Bruins used an Alaina Miller Court 3 victory to clinch their fourth straight conference win. A day earlier, UCLA handled Washington at Bill Quillian Tennis Stadium, 4-1. Knotted at one apiece after a singles match, Terri Fleming, Ena Shibahara and Gabby Andrews ran off three straight victories to clinch the win. That improved UCLA's all-time record versus the Huskies to 25-2.
LAST WEEK
UCLA split a pair of home matches, dropping a nonconference showdown with then-No. 19 Oklahoma State, 4-2 (March 14), before rebounding with a convincing 4-0 win over then-No. 20 Oregon (March 18). The Bruins took the first two points from the Cowgirls, but watched as the visitors from Stillwater, Okla. ran off wins on the top four courts to complete their comeback. History would not repeat itself Sunday, though, as the Ducks were never able to break through against host UCLA. Jada Hart notched her fourth match-clinching victory of the year with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Shweta Sangwan on Court 2.
LAINI LUNACY
Miller has been red hot over the Bruins' last six matchesโa period that has spanned nearly a month. The junior has gone 12-0 during that time, winning all six of her singles matches and claiming six of six doubles decisions alongside Shibahara. On top of being undefeated in her half-dozen singles matches, the Saratoga, Calif. native has not dropped a set during that time. For the dual-match season, Miller is 9-1 in singles play (3-0 in Pac-12 play). The Miller-Shibahara tandem is 7-1 (3-0 Pac-12).
OVER 100 GATHER FOR REUNION
More than 100 current and former UCLA women's tennis players and coaches convened March 16-18 to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the program's first NCAA Championship and the life of legendary coach Bill Zaima. Included among that group were members of some of Zaima's first teams from nearly five decades ago. The group was able to see new and updated on-campus facilities, take part in a gala banquet and celebration at the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame and watch the current Bruins defeat Oregon, among other activities.
NEWCOMER SUCCESS
Freshman Abi Altick recently dropped her first match in over a monthโfailing to drop a set along the way. She is 8-2 on the dual-match season and leads the Bruins with 22 total wins after a successful fall. The Monroe, La. native has a 4-3 record versus Top-100 players, with two losses coming to teammates Fleming and Shibahara. Ayan 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 Siobhan Anderson of LMU (Feb. 16). She has also teamed with Andrews to secure a pair of doubles points.
UCLA IN THE RANKINGS
Five Bruins are ranked among Oracle/ITA's Top 125 singles players, announced March 6. Shibahara is tops among them, as the sophomore sits at No. 13. Hart has moved up to No. 37, while Altick is at No. 46 and Miller No. 100. The doubles list features four Bruin tandems. The team of Hart and Shibahara checks in at No. 10 to lead the way. Hart-Fleming comes in at No. 15, while Andrews-Hart is No. 25 and Andrews-Broomfield is No. 46. UCLA is ranked No. 13 in the latest Oracle/ITA team list (March 20). The Bruins are tops among Pac-12 schools, and one of two in the Top 25 (Oregon โ No. 22). Stanford (No. 26), Arizona State (35), Washington State (39), USC (41), California (45) and Washington (47) are in the Top 50.
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 407-156ย (.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
