UCLA
USC
Women's Tennis Set to Face Local Rivals
February 26, 2020 | Women's Tennis
The No. 2/8 UCLA women's tennis team is set take on a pair of Los Angeles-area rivals in non-conference matches scheduled for Friday and Saturday. The Bruins will pay a visit to No. 31 (ITA) USC Friday at 1:30 p.m., PT, before returning to Los Angeles Tennis Center for a showdown with No. 11/17 Pepperdine Saturday at 12 p.m. Live video and live stats from USC's Marks Tennis Stadium will be available HERE. Live video and live stats for Saturday's match will be accessible HERE.
LAST WEEK
The Bruins extended their home shutout streak Friday, Feb. 21, when they defeated California by a 7-0 score at LATC. Freshman Sasha Vagramov clinched the win for a team-high fourth time. Vagramov, junior Abi Altick and freshman Abbey Forbes each turned in straight-set victories for UCLA. Sophomore Elysia Bolton, junior Annette Goulak and redshirt senior Jada Hart each won in three sets after dropping an initial set. The shutout of the Golden Bears marked the Bruins' first since the 2008 NCAA title match.
UCLA VS. USC, PEPPERDINE
UCLA women's tennis holds a narrow lead in its all-time series with USC. Last year's split made it 54-51 in favor of the Bruins. The Trojans earned a 4-1 non-conference win at LATC (March 1), while UCLA took the conference showdown across town, 4-2, in the regular-season finale (April 20). Altick won both of her singles sets by way of tiebreaker to clinch the most recent meeting. The Bruins dropped both matchups to the Waves in 2019, falling by a 4-0 score on the road (March 13) before taking the return trip the distance in a 4-3 loss (April 3). Then-senior Dzina Milovanovic clinched the final point in a three-set decision over Altick on Court 5. UCLA leads the all-time series with Pepperdine by a 55-18 margin.
FORBES NAMED PAC-12 PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Forbes was voted Pac-12 Player of the Week for the week of Feb. 17-23, the conference announced Tuesday. Forbes earned her eighth singles win of the dual-match season without a loss in UCLA's 7-0 non-conference defeat of visiting No. 18/45 California Friday, Feb. 21. The shutout of the Golden Bears marked the Bruins' first since the 2008 NCAA title match. The freshman dealt 50th-ranked Julia Rosenqvist a 7-5, 6-4 loss on Court 2 to give UCLA a 3-0 lead. She also teamed with sophomore Taylor Johnson for the first time in doubles play and the pair beat Anna Bright/Alexis Nelson, 6-2, on Court 2 to clinch the day's first point. The conference honor marks the first of Forbes' career and 27th all time for the UCLA women's tennis program. She is the third Bruin to earn the award this season, joining Bolton (Jan. 27-Feb. 2) and Vagramov (Feb. 3-9).
BOLTON/HART RANKED NO. 1 BY ORACLE/ITA
The duo of Bolton and Hart was elevated to No. 1 in the Oracle/ITA doubles rankings, it was announced Tuesday, Feb. 18. The pair has won 11 matches in a row dating back to the start of November's Oracle ITA National Fall Championships. Five of those wins have come against nationally-ranked opponents, including then-No. 15 Victoria/Petra Hule of Florida State (6-3), then-No. 25 Emily Arbuthnott/Angelica Blake of Stanford (6-1) and then-No. 6 Sara Daavettila/Alexa Graham of North Carolina (6-2) in consecutive matches at ITA Indoors. Bolton/Hart went 31-9 in 2018-19 and reached the round of 16 at the year-end NCAA doubles tournament. The pair is off to a 14-2 start this season.
ALSO IN THE RANKINGS
In addition to Bolton/Hart being atop the doubles list, four Bruins appear in the latest Oracle ITA singles rankings, also announced Tuesday, Feb. 18. Forbes leads the way at No. 8, with Bolton (No. 12) and Hart (19) also appearing in the top 20. Goulak is slotted at No. 114. Forbes (No. 5 โ Feb. 5) and Goulak (99 โ Nov. 13, 2019) previously achieved singles career highs this season. UCLA's ITA Indoors success led to a No. 2 showing in the Feb. 13 team rankings, but the Bruins have dropped to No. 8 on the latest computerized list (Feb. 25). They maintained their No. 2 standing in this week's Tennis Channel USTA Top 25, announced Wednesday.
FALL RECAP
Bolton and Hart completed the fall as doubles champions at the Oracle ITA National Fall Championships in Newport Beach, Calif. The pair won five matches in five days, including a 6-4, 6-3 defeat of top-ranked Anna Rogers and Alana Smith of NC State in the final. Forbes and Goulak also had standout falls for the Bruins, posting singles records of 12-2 and 10-2, respectively. Forbes went 6-2 versus nationally-ranked opponents, including a 7-6(3), 6-2 victory over Hart in the final round of the ITA Southwest Regional Championships. Forbes and Goulak also teamed to win the Regionals doubles title, defeating the UCLA combination of Altick and Johnson, 6-3, 6-4, in the final. Forbes/Goulak went 6-1 in the fall, while Bolton/Hart went 8-2 with three wins over nationally-ranked opponents.
VAGRAMOV EARNS PAC-12 PLAYER OF THE WEEK NOD ON FEB. 11
Vagramov was chosen as Pac-12 Player of the Week for the week of Feb. 3-9, the conference announced Tuesday, Feb. 11. Vagramov's first ITA National Team Indoor Championships was one to remember, as the freshman clinched all three of UCLA's wins en route to the program's first title match since 2014. Playing on Court 6, Vagramov logged deciding victories over Emilee Duong of host Illinois (6-1, 6-3), Andrea Garcia of No. 9 Florida State (6-0, 6-4) and Emma Higuchi of No. 1 Stanford (6-3, 6-3). The Bruins' win over the defending NCAA champion Cardinal in the semifinals marked their first in the series since March 21, 2015. The award represents the 27th all time for the UCLA women's tennis program and second in a row. Bolton was selected for the week of Jan. 27-Feb. 2. The honor is the first in the career of Vagramov.
BOLTON NAMED PAC-12 PLAYER OF THE WEEK ON FEB. 4
Bolton was named Pac-12 Player of the Week for the week of Jan. 27-Feb. 2, the conference announced Feb. 4. Bolton turned in her finest win of the young season on Feb. 1, when she beat then-15th-ranked Mariia Kozyreva of Saint Mary's by a 6-4, 6-3 score on the top court. The next day, then-No. 14 Bolton faced an early 1-5 deficit against Elizaveta Volodko of UC Santa Barbara on Court 2 before charging back to take the set and, ultimately, the match. Sunday's 7-5, 6-1 victory capped a 4-0 weekend for the Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. native, who also won a pair of top-court doubles matches with partner Jada Hart. The then-second-ranked duo took down Kozyreva/Danielle McIntyre of Saint Mary's, 6-1, and Volodko/Amit Lev Ari of UC Santa Barbara, 6-2. The Bruins improved to 4-0 with a pair of 7-0 wins. The award marks the second such of Bolton's career and 26th all time for the UCLA women's tennis program.
2018-19 IN REVIEW
The Bruins made a return trip to the NCAA Championships quarterfinal round, defeating each of its first three tournament opponents by a 4-0 score. UCLA's lineup featured four All-Americans, including the NCAA doubles champion pair of seniors Gabby Andrews and Ayan Broomfield. The duo defied the odds en route to the program's seventh title, winning three third-set tiebreakers and upsetting the top-seeded tandem. Bolton and Hart also shined, with each earning a spot on the All-Pac-12 First Team. Bolton, who racked up a team-high 28 singles wins, was named Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Year.
WHO'S BACK
In Bolton (28 wins), Altick (19) and Hart (19), UCLA returns its top three singles winners from 2018-19. The tandem of Bolton and Hart, meanwhile, led all Bruin combinations in doubles victories with 31. Altick and Johnson also shined in doubles play, winning their final nine decisions en route to a 13-1 record. They went 12-1 on Court 3. Johnson additionally posted an 11-10 record in singles play, including a 5-2 mark on Court 5. Also back is junior Sophie Bendetti.
WHO'S GONE
Andrews and Broomfield closed their UCLA careers with a bang, winning the NCAA doubles championship. Andrews also posted a 14-6 singles record as the Bruins' most frequent Court 6 player, while Broomfield registered an 18-11 mark and held the No. 3 spot most often. Both earned postseason accolades, as Andrews was named the ITA Southwest Region Most Improved Senior and Broomfield was honored as the region's Senior Player of the Year. Also gone are Alaina Miller, who racked up 70 singles wins and 72 doubles triumphs during her UCLA career and had 15 decisions on Court 4 in 2019, and Katie LaFrance.
NEWCOMERS
Forbes and Vagramov are Blue-Chip talents, ranked as high as Nos. 2 and 9, respectively, according to TennisRecruting.net. Forbes, from Raleigh, N.C., earned entry into the 2019 US Open main draw by capturing the Girls' 18 doubles title at the USTA Billie Jean King National Championships. She also played in the event's junior tournament in 2017, 2018 and 2019. Freshman Caroline Goldberg, a multiple-time participant in the USTA Billie Jean King National Championships (2017, 2018) and Easter Bowl (2014, 2016, 2017, 2019), led Palisades Charter HS to success in her two seasons as a Dolphin. Rounding out the list of newcomers is Goulak, who transferred from Georgia in June. The Oak Park, Calif. native posted a singles record of 21-11 and a doubles mark of 20-13 in two seasons with the Bulldogs.
HEAD COACH STELLA SAMPRAS WEBSTER
Head coach Stella Sampras Webster is in her 24th season at the helm of the UCLA women's tennis program, compiling an impressive overall record of 449-166 (.730). She is the second-longest-tenured active coach at UCLA, behind men's tennis head coach Billy Martin. Sampras Webster has guided her alma mater to NCAA championships in 2008 and 2014, the first two in program history. Her teams have finished top-10 nationally in 20 of her 23 seasons and in the top five 14 times. Three doubles tandems have won NCAA titles under Sampras Webster's tutelage, including Andrews and Broomfield in 2019.
Players Mentioned
