UCLA
USC
Women's Tennis Defeats USC, 5-2
February 28, 2020 | Women's Tennis
LOS ANGELES โ The No. 2/8 UCLA women's tennis team needed a third set win, but prevailed over No. 31 (ITA) USC by a score of 5-2 in a non-conference match Friday afternoon at Marks Tennis Stadium.
Freshman Sasha Vagramov registered her team-high fifth clinching victory of the season for the Bruins (9-1). Sophomore Elysia Bolton and redshirt senior Jada Hart added singles wins, as did junior Abi Altick after the match was decided. Bolton/Hart suffered its first loss of the dual-match season, but Courts 2 and 3 picked them up to earn the day's first point. USC (6-4) got singles wins from Eryn Cayetano and Ana Neffa.
It was not No. 1 Bolton/Hart's day on the top doubles court, as the Bruins collected just one game against Eryn Cayetano and Angela Kulikov. The loss marked the first of the dual-match season for Bolton and Hart, who dropped to 6-1.
Abbey Forbes and Taylor Johnson picked up their teammates with a 6-1 win of their own on Court 2. Constance Branstine and Payton Saca of the Trojans held serve their first try, but could not put another one across the rest of the way. Forbes/Johnson earned its second victory in as many tries.
That left the doubles point to be decided on Court 3, where Altick/Annette Goulak of UCLA and Estella Jaeger/Danielle Willson of USC alternated breaks of serve to start the match. The Bruins gathered four games in a row for a 5-2 advantage, but the Trojans earned a break to put an end to their spell. Jaeger/Willson followed with a hold, but Altick/Goulak would not let them pull even. A short rally ended with a USC shot into the net to give UCLA the point.
No. 19 Hart bounced back quickly and convincingly in singles play, as she dealt Sydney Van Alphen a 6-2, 6-2 loss on Court 3 to give the Bruins a 2-0 lead. The win kept Hart's dual-match singles record perfect at 6-0.
On the top court, No. 12 Bolton was also able to turn the page on her doubles loss with a straight-set victory of her own. The 6-3, 6-2 triumph over 25th-ranked Kulikov improved Bolton's record versus nationally-ranked opponents to 6-2 and put UCLA one win away from the overall decision.
Momentum began shifting in favor of the Trojans, who picked up their first point of the day via an Ana Neffa victory over Goulak on Court 5. The 7-6(6), 6-2 result trimmed USC's deficit to 3-1 with each of the remaining matches destined for a third set.
Once again, Vagramov provided the heroics for the Bruins. It was a comeback effort for the Port Moody, B.C., Canada native, who dispatched of Constance Branstine by a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 score. The win improved Vagramov's record to 8-0 in dual-match play.
Forbes suffered her first loss of the dual-match season on Court 2, where Cayetano came out on top of a 7-6(1), 1-6, 6-4 result. Forbes dropped to 8-1 in dual matches and 20-3 overall.
Altick ultimately took care of Willson on Court 4 to finalize the match. Altick bounced back from a lost second-set tiebreaker to earn her fourth dual-match singles victory in five tries and improve to 8-3 overall with the 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-3 decision.
The Bruins return to action Saturday at 12 p.m., PT, when they welcome No. 11/17 Pepperdine to Los Angeles Tennis Center.
Tennis Match Results
UCLA vs USC
2/28/2020 at Los Angeles, CA
(Marks Tennis Stadium)
#8 UCLA 5, #31 USC 2
Singles competition
1. #12 Elysia Bolton (UCLA) def. #25 Angela Kulikov (USC) 6-3, 6-2
2. Eryn Cayetano (USC) def. #8 Abbey Forbes (UCLA) 7-6 (7-1), 1-6, 6-4
3. #19 Jada Hart (UCLA) def. Sydney Van Alphen (USC) 6-2, 6-2
4. Abi Altick (UCLA) def. Danielle Willson (USC) 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3
5. Ana Neffa (USC) def. #114 Annette Goulak (UCLA) 7-6 (8-6), 6-2
6. Sasha Vagramov (UCLA) def. Constance Branstine (USC) 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. Eryn Cayetano/Angela Kulikovย (USC) def. #1 Elysia Bolton/Jada Hart (UCLA) 6-1
2. Abbey Forbes/Taylor Johnson (UCLA) def. Constance Branstine/Payton Saca (UCLA) 6-1
3. Annette Goulak/Abi Altick (UCLA) def. Estella Jaeger/Danielle Willson (USC) 6-4
Match Notes:
UCLA 9-1; National ranking #8
USC 6-4; National ranking #31
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (3,1,5,6,2,4)
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
1,2,3
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
3,1,5,6,2,4
Players Mentioned
